11 Facts About Water: Explore The Less Known

Drop of Water (Credit: Pixabay)

Water. It is present in our bodies, on the surface of our planet, and even in the infinite expanse of space. We depend on it for life itself and drink and bathe in it. Water, however, is anything but normal for something so basic in the sense that it is an incredibly intriguing material that exhibits some genuinely strange and unexpected behaviours. Water continues to amaze and captivate both scientists and the general public with its unusual qualities that appear to defy the laws of physics and its capacity to shape life as we know it. In this blog post article, we will explore 11 amazing but little-known facts about water that will make you re-evaluate all you believed to be true about this everyday liquid as follows:

1. Water Has a "Memory" (In a Sense): One of the most fascinating (and debatable) theories regarding water is that it possesses a "memory" whereby according to this theory, which is frequently connected to homeopathy, water may "remember" substances it has come into contact with, even after they have vanished. However, how is this possible???.....The concept is that even after a material has been extracted from a liquid, water can "retain" its molecular imprint and this, according to some homeopathic proponents, explains why very diluted medicines can still have an effect even though they are identical to pure water. The scientific community is still divided on this idea, though. The process of water molecules creating organised clusters (as we will describe later) raises the prospect that water may retain certain "signatures" from past encounters, but there is no concrete proof that water "remembers" in the sense that homeopathy indicates.

2. Water Can Boil and Freeze Simultaneously (Triple Point): The peculiarities of water do not end there. Water can exist simultaneously in all three states (solid, liquid, and gas) under extremely certain temperature and pressure conditions. The triple point is the name given to this mind-bending occurrence. Water is at the triple point, where the liquid, gas, and solid phases co-exist at the ideal temperature and pressure equilibrium. Although you would not often come across it in daily life, scientific research greatly benefits from it, especially when it comes to developing the Kelvin scale of temperature. In disciplines ranging from chemistry to astronomy, an understanding of the triple point aids researchers in improving measurements and accurately calibrating thermometers. Therefore, even though it is unlikely that you will ever see water in your kitchen boil and freeze simultaneously, this idea is essential to preserving the accuracy of scientific instruments.

3. Supercooled Water: Sometimes, even when water's temperature falls considerably below the freezing point, it defies logic and stays liquid but when water is chilled below 0°C (32°F) without losing its liquid condition, it is referred to as supercooled water which acts like a normal liquid, but if it is disturbed or comes into contact with a tiny particle, such dust or an impurity, it can freeze practically immediately. The water is technically "frozen" in a liquid state, but only under certain circumstances can it solidify, making it resemble a delicate balancing act not forgetting that in addition to being a fun party trick to do, it has real-world uses in physics and weather forecasting.

4. Water Can Walk on Walls (Capillary Action): Ever notice how water sometimes appear to "defy gravity" as it rises in the small tubes of plants or climbs the sides of a glass???.....The forces of cohesion and adhesion are responsible for this amazing property, which is called capillary action. In addition to adhering to surfaces, water molecules also adhere to one another (cohesion). Water can "climb" up against gravity when these forces interact with small tubes or porous materials and even at very high altitudes, this is how plants move water from their roots to their leaves with also a paper towel's ability to absorb liquid is also due to capillary action, which draws water up into its threads.

5. Water is The Only Substance That Expands When Freezing: While majority of substances contract when they freeze, water has an unusual behaviour whereby it actually expands in the sense that water molecules exhibit this peculiar behaviour because of their special hydrogen bonds, which, when frozen, give the molecules a crystalline structure. Ice floats because it has a lower density than liquid water as a result of its expansion. Lakes and oceans would freeze solid from the bottom up if water behaved like most other fluids and contracted when frozen, severely upsetting aquatic life but rather, ice builds up on the surface, protecting the water below and allowing life to survive in frigid climates.

6. Water Can Have a "Negative" Heat Capacity: Not all water behaves according to the standard laws of thermodynamics. Water can have a feature known as negative heat capacity under very uncommon and extreme circumstances, such as when it is superfluid or under extreme pressure. A substance usually gets warmer when it absorbs heat, however, water can absorb heat and cool down because of its negative heat capacity and this astounding occurrence, which is typically seen in supercooled liquid helium or quantum mechanics experiments, happens under extremely particular circumstances. Even while it is not something we encounter on a regular basis, it raises intriguing questions about the potential behaviour of water in harsh environments.

7. Water Boils at Lower Temperatures at High Altitudes: You may have observed that water boils at a significantly lower temperature at the summit of a mountain than it does at sea level and this is because atmospheric pressure drops with altitude, lowering the boiling point of water like for instance, water boils at 100°C (212°F) at sea level but only 92°C (198°F) above 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) where because of this, cooking at high altitudes involves modifications; food takes longer to cook since water boils at a lower temperature. Additionally, because pressure cookers artificially elevate the boiling point and pressure, they are particularly helpful in mountainous areas.

8. Water Can Form Clusters: Water molecules do not merely drift around randomly whereby because of hydrogen bonding, a few molecules tend to cling to one another in small groupings or clusters which are essential to water's many peculiar characteristics, including its high surface tension and wide range of solubility. Actually, water's molecular clusters, which can aid in the separation and dissolution of compounds that are compatible with water, are what give it the capacity to dissolve other molecules not forgetting that water is the "universal solvent" because of this characteristic, which is necessary for life on Earth.

9. Water's Surface Tension is Exceptionally High: Water resists outside forces that try to break its surface because it has one of the greatest surface tensions of any liquid and the hydrogen bonds that bind water molecules together are responsible for this. The ability of tiny insects, like water striders, to "walk" on water without sinking is one of the most intriguing effects of this high surface tension with these microscopic organisms being able to keep afloat because of the surface tension that forms a kind of "skin" on the water which also explains why water droplets do not spread out flat but instead form spheres.

10. Water Can Be Found in Outer Space: Although it may appear that water is found only on Earth, scientists have found that it is far more common than previously believed whereby comets, moons, asteroids, and even far-off exoplanets have all been found to have water in one form or another. The existence of water on other planets may really be a sign of possible life, according to some scientists and in far-off galaxies, water vapour even surrounds black holes which also makes water be an essential element of the universe and not merely a characteristic of Earth.

11. Water Has a "Natural" pH (potential/power of Hydrogen) of 7: At 25°C (77°F), pure water has a pH of 7, which is neutral (neither acidic nor alkaline) however, a number of variables, including the existence of dissolved gasses like carbon dioxide, which can reduce the pH and make water somewhat acidic, might cause this to vary with also one of the reasons water is such an excellent solvent is because of its neutral pH, which allows it to dissolve a variety of chemicals without significantly changing the solution's chemical equilibrium.

Summary

There is a lot more to water than just the colourless, transparent liquid we consume. It is a material having characteristics that go against everything we know about the physical universe. Water has an amazing array of properties that continue to perplex and motivate scientists, from its "memory" of things to its simultaneous boiling and freezing, it is a substance full of surprises, whether it is found in the frigid depths of space, walking up walls, or floating on ice. Its significance for life as we know it cannot be emphasised, and its mysteries serve as a reminder that even the most common things in our environment still have a lot to teach us. The next time you drink, think of all the amazing things that water may be concealing just below the surface.