Water
The Ancient
Greek philosopher Empedocles held
that water is one of the four classical
elements along
with fire,
earth and air,
and was regarded as the ylem,
or basic substance of the universe.
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds.
Water appears in nature in all three common states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) and may take many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky; seawater in the oceans; icebergs in the polar oceans; glaciers and rivers in the mountains; and the liquid in aquifers in the ground.
Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life.
Only 3% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.
Water on Earth moves continually through the hydrological cycle of evaporation and transpiration, runoff, usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.
The major chemical and physical properties of water are:
Water is, but it often coexists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state (water vapor or steam). Water also exists in a liquid crystal state near hydrophilic surfaces.
Water is a liquid at temperatures above 0°C at sea level. The liquid water at a little volumes is tasteless and odorless. The huge volumes of water (seas, lakes, etc.) have a very slight blue hue. Water vapor is essentially invisible as a gas.
Water is transparent in the visible electromagnetic spectrum. Thus aquatic plants can live in water because sunlight can reach them. Infrared light is strongly absorbed by the hydrogen-oxygen or OH bonds.
Since the water molecule is not linear and the oxygen atom has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen atoms, it carries a slight negative charge, whereas the hydrogen atoms are slightly positive. As a result, water is a polar molecule with an electrical dipole moment.
In a liquid state one water molecule can form four intermolecular hydrogen bonds with other water molecules. These factors lead to strong attractive forces between molecules of water, giving rise to water's high surface tension and capillary forces.
Liquid water (left) and ice (right) structures
The capillary action refers to the tendency of water to move up a narrow tube against the force of gravity. This property is relied upon by all vascular plants, such as trees.
Capillary action of water compared to mercury
Water is a good polar solvent and is often referred to as the universal solvent. Substances that dissolve in water, e.g., salts, sugars, acids, alkalis, and some gases – especially oxygen, carbon dioxide (carbonation) are known as hydrophilic (water-loving) substances, while those that are immiscible with water (e.g., fats and oils), are known as hydrophobic (water-fearing) substances.
Most of the major components in cells (proteins, DNA and polysaccharides) are also dissolved in water.
The boiling point of water (and all other liquids) is dependent on the barometric pressure. For example, on the top of Everest water boils at 68°C, compared to 100°C at sea level. Conversely, water deep in the ocean near geothermal vents can reach temperatures of hundreds of degrees and remain liquid.
At, water has a high specific heat capacity (1000 Kal/kg·oC), as well as a high specific heat of vaporization (540 Ccal/kg1). Both of which are a result of the extensive hydrogen bonding between its molecules. These two unusual properties allow water to moderate Earth's climate by buffering large fluctuations in temperature.
Between 0◦C and 3.98◦C, the second effect will cancel off the first effect so the net effect is shrinkage of volume with increasing temperature. It expands to occupy 9% greater volume in this solid state, which accounts for the fact of ice floating on liquid water, as in icebergs.
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Density of ice and liquid water (kg/l) at different temperatures (oC)
Temperature distribution in a lake in summer and winter |
These properties of water have important consequences in its role in aquatic ecosystems. In summer water at a temperature of 4°C will always accumulate at the bottom of freshwater lakes, irrespective of the temperature in the atmosphere.
Since water and ice are poor conductors of heat (good insulators) it is unlikely that sufficiently deep lakes will freeze completely, unless stirred by strong currents that mix cooler and warmer water and accelerate the cooling.
In the early spring at warming weather, chunks of ice float, rather than sink to the bottom where they might melt extremely slowly. These properties therefore allow aquatic life in the lake to survive during the winter.
Water is also central to acid-base neutrality and enzyme function. An acid, a hydrogen ion (H+, that is, a proton) donor, can be neutralized by a base, a proton acceptor such as hydroxide ion (OH−) to form water. Water is considered to be neutral, with a pH (the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration) of 7. Acids have pH values less than 7 while bases have values greater than 7.
Solutes such as salts and sugars found in water affect the physical properties of water. The boiling and freezing points of water are affected by solutes, as well as air pressure, which is in turn affected by altitude. Water boils at lower temperatures with the lower air pressure which occurs at higher elevations.
One mole of sucrose (sugar) per kilogram of water raises the boiling point of water by 0.51 °C, and one mole of salt per kg raises the boiling point by 1.02 °C; similarly, increasing the number of dissolved particles lowers water's freezing point.
Solutes in water also affect water activity which affects many chemical reactions and the growth of microbes in food. Water activity can be described as a ratio of the vapor pressure of water in a solution to the vapor pressure of pure water.[60] Solutes in water lower water activity. This is important to know because most bacterial growth ceases at low levels of water activity. Not only does microbial growth affect the safety of food but also the preservation and shelf life of food.
The content of removable calcium carbonate salt (CaCO3) in fresh water hardness is defined as hardness. In UK and YSA water hardness is measured in grains;
1 grain = 64 mg calcium carbonate
Soft water contains from 1 to 4 grains,
Medium water contains from 5 to 10 grains;
Hard water contains from 11 to 20 grains.