Many people would be surprised that water is one of the weirdest things in the universe, because from a human perspective, we are so abundant with water that it appears to be absolutely normal.
But imagine all the weird stuff we’re going to figure out in the coming centuries about the universe! From a human perspective, in comparison to the weird scientific findings yet to be discovered, water is boring! But nevertheless, H2O is certainly a weird molecule. Perhaps if we ever make contact with an intelligent group of extraterrestrials, we will explain our abundance of water to them and they’ll say, “WTF!”.
Here are a few reasons why water is such a weird molecule:
- When water freezes, the space between its molecules expands, causing it to float on its liquid form. Water is the only known natural substance with this property. Think about it for a moment … why would a substance in its solid form float atop its liquid form? Normally when a substance freezes, its molecules contract closer to each other rather than expand away from each other. This anomaly has shaped Earth as we see it today. Water in its liquid form will seep into boulders, and when it freezes is powerful enough to break them apart. Erosion of rocks over time is a powerful force, and is the main source for the ground soil which we take for granted.
- The high surface tension of liquid water allows small animals, such as insects, to travel across its surface. These animals do not fall into its depths because the surface tension of water is immense when compared to other liquids.
- The adhesive and cohesive properties of water. Extrapolating from #2, water has the incredibly ability to stick to itself, and life on Earth has evolved to make use of it. Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, hence its chemical name, H2O. The two hydrogen atoms are highly attracted to the oxygen atom of the water molecules surrounding it. Because of this, water can essentially defy gravity in nature. There are many examples: the water in our blood allows nutrients and oxygen to be pushed along through all of the tiniest blood vessels. Water is pumped from soil to the top of all living plants by the same mechanism. Radiators, plumbing, irrigation systems, and water hoses wouldn’t be nearly as efficient if not for this phenomenon.
- Water is the universal solvent. It does not only stick to itself, but sticks to and dissolves nearly everything it touches. Water is such a good solvent that it is nearly impossible to get a 100% pure sample of it in a laboratory. It at least partially dissolves nearly everything it touches. Common salt, which is made up of crystals of sodium chloride, easily dissolves in water because the hydrogen bonds pull the sodium and chlorine atoms away from the crystal, leaving them to float freely through the liquid. Almost every known chemical and mineral compound will dissolve in water to at least a small extent. Because of that, water is one of the most reactive and corrosive chemicals we know of!
- Water is absolutely crucial for life as we know it. This is because water can dissolve a wide variety of nutrients and other ingredients and move them around our bodies. The basic molecules of life – DNA, proteins, molecules that make up cell membranes, etc. – wouldn’t work without water. Evolution has shaped these sophisticated molecules so that certain sections are hydrophilic and mix easily with water, and other sections are hydrophobic and shun water. The billions of protein molecules inside your body only fold into the right shapes to do their jobs because their interaction with water nudges them into the correct three-dimensional formats.
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Chemistry