Figure 1(Click
either Image to Enlarge)
Figure 2
Blue spheres symbolize
water molecules forming super-molecules
surrounding all non-water particles in
the water.
............
Figures 1 and 2 are from the
"Water" volume of the Life
Science Library, by L. B. Leopold, Chief
Hydrologist of the US Geological Survey.
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1.
What determines the "quality"
of liquid water?
The physical
structure of the super-molecules
(H2O)n.
Contrary to common belief
liquid water Is NOT a mass of separate HO
molecules.
If it were, it would be
liquid only below minus 30 degree
Fahrenheit!
But in fact, water is
liquid in a larger range of temperature
than other liquids! (Figure 1.) In
addition it has these amazing properties:
• It
is able to absorb more heat per gram than
other substances. For instance, 10 times
as much as iron.
• When
it turns solid it becomes lighter. (Ice
swims on top of liquid water.)
• It is
chemically neutral, yet it is a
universal solvent.
• It has
an extremely high surface tension, as
anyone can see by observing how hard it
is for a drop of water to fall from a
faucet.
This is only a partial
list of the unusual qualities of liquid
water. But it seems to indicate that
water must contain bigger molecules than
H2O.
It is generally known
that HO molecules attract one another by
their hydrogen bonds. They conglomerate
to form super molecules, which determine
the behavior of liquid water.
However, the size and the
shape of these super-molecules are not
known. Whether they are ordered or not,
or whether they change constantly or are
stable in time, is also not known!
Known with certainty is
that these water super-molecules engulf
non-water particles (Figure 2).
The "quality"
of liquid water depends on its super-molecules.
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