> Experiments at a synchrotron in Berlin confirmed that the gold reflections produced the signatures expected of metallic water.
In my opinion, the ingenious part of the experiment is the following part, and I'm glad that they were lucky enough to find the right conditions:
> The key to avoiding an explosion, Jungwirth says, was to find a window of time in which the diffusion of electrons was faster than the reaction between the water and the metals.
Edit: added "in my opinion".
There is experiment to detect some sugars, that is somewhat similar to this alternative explanation (and unrelated to the experiment in the OP). More details in:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollens%27_reagent
Random quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21PHoxlukME
NileRed video with more technical details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGmxHLHyUPc