Of Water and Ice...(Seriously?)

Here's the thing. Ice has different properties and uses than liquid water. So it IS entirely possible they need both. Is that really such a strange concept?

Actually, no - ice IS water. "Dry ice" - is the only exception there are. The rest of materials called "frozen" or, in scientific term "solid state". Here, have a definition: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice : Ice is water frozen into a solid state.  (and here is other cases of using word "Ice", still not related to the solid state of other materials: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_(disambiguation))


However, in planet description BW could use another word - Volatiles, the group of chemical elements and chemical compounds with low boiling points that are associated with a planet's or moon's crust or atmosphere. Examples include nitrogen, water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen, methane and sulfur dioxide. In astrogeology, these compounds, in their solid state, often comprise large proportions of the crusts of moons and dwarf planets.

Sometimes that can be very informally called "ice" as well.
 

Exactly what I said (why quoting only half of the post?): Sometimes that can be very informally called "ice" as well. And it is used in description of the planet (The terms "gas" and "ice" in this context can apply to compounds that may be solids, liquids or gases. Thus, Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants, and Uranus and Neptune are ice giants) - not when you list all the compounds you can get from the planet.

The term has it's place in planetology, but I am afraid in MEA it was used in a wrong way from both - science and common sense. Still, a very minor detail compare to everything else. I would forgive it

I quoted only half, because I read only half when I started to respond and I didn't bother changing my response after I read the bottom part.

Anyway, doesn't change that "ice" is used to mean solid phase of more than water in astronomy (even if informally, although I don't think NASA is super informal in its publications). That's why "water ice" is used in astronomical publication, so they can distinguished all those ices.

But outside of that, even if the devs meant water and (water) ice, I fail to see where there was a mistake if they need both the liquid and solid phase of water for the Nexus.

So then, what kind of "ice" do they need, besides water?

CO2?  Methane, Nitrogen?

Nitrogen would be a good example, considering how many things we use it for. Especially when on a space ship where we don't have the Earth's capabilities of cycling it. 

i wasn't specifically talking about your post i was directing my comments to those who haven't been as kind.

This just raises another question, aren't there more efficient ways of cooling hypersupertechnologythings than water ice?

Well, sure, but then why not say "nitrogen" or "hydrocarbons"?  Or "nitrogen crystals", if frozen nitrogen is what's really needed (is liquid nitrogen not cold enough?)

The only clathrates I'm interested in are Germanium ones. You probably never heard of them.
Clathrate hydrates are too common...

How do you know? Clathrate hydrates are only technically ice, and practically every element usually bound in them can be found much easier and in greater quantities in another way.

I highly doubt that's what they actually meant... not BioWare.