Obtaining water microstructures is very difficult because of low viscosity and high surface tension. We produced stable freestanding thin films of pure water by x-ray bombardment of small liquid volumes in capillary tubes. A detailed characterization with phase-contrast radiology demonstrated a lifetime beyond with no chemical stabilizer for micron-thickness films with half-millimeter-level diameter. This can be attributed to the interplay of two x-ray effects: water evaporation and surface charging.
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