INTERPRETATION OF THE PRINCIPAL DIFFRACTION PEAK OF LIQUID AND AMORPHOUS WATER

The prominent first peak in the x-ray or neutron-derived structure factor of the low-density amorphous (LDA) form of water, prepared by vapor deposition or hyperquenching of the liquid, is identified as a ''first sharp diffraction peak'' (FSDP), as fond in other covalent network glasses. The origin of this peak can be ascribed to the ordering of interstitial voids around the oxygen atoms comprising the tetrahedrally coordinated continuous-random network structure that is believed to describe LDA water. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.