The Dynamic Nature of Water - Part I
“Water is the only compound found in
three phases on Earth - solid, liquid and
gaseous - and 74 per cent of the Earth's
surface is covered in it.”
as a substance. It doesn’t help that it is almost never the same. In
fact, there are few that have actually experienced pure water
due to its uncanny desire to dissolve and transport physical
substance. It is very aggressive when empty, indicated by the
loss in success rate when using only distilled water in a cloning
machine, or the chasms created by it in the Grand Canyon.
Water is the only compound found in three phases on
Earth - solid, liquid and gaseous - and 74 per cent
of the Earth's surface is covered in it.Yet, less
than one per cent of it is available as fresh.
Water is vital in all processes of life; indeed, it
is the litmus test we use in our attempts to
document biological life on other planets. Water
is so vital to human existence that we can go no
longer than a week without it and experience
roughly 50 tons of water through our bodies
during our lifetimes. Similarly, mature oak trees
can transpire 40,000 gallons of water per year!
The chemical structure of water contains one oxygen (O2-)
and two hydrogen (H+) atoms. The electrical affinity of the
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MAXIMUM YIELD USA - March 2009
atoms (opposites attract), and the fact that their electrical
charges do not completely overlap, result in what is called a
dipole moment, or an asymmetry of charge that results in the
continual expression of polarity. In other words, water exhibits
an electrically positive (+) and negative (-) side to its molecule,
and physically takes the shape of the letter V, allowing it to
pick up and carry literally all earthbound substance. This
relatively unique structure is both advantageous for us and
for water, resulting in the title of the “universal solvent”.
This ability of water is manifest in our ability to grow plants
hydroponically. Water is so innate to the technique that it is
literally the root of the word, hydro = water.
Water is not only imperative for life, but to the environments
that sustain it. For instance, due to its distinctive structure water
exhibits its greatest carrying capacity at 39.2°F and its density
actually decreases below this temperature, resulting in floating
ice on liquid water. This is relatively unique in nature and quite
significant. Imagine if ice were to sink to the bottom of the
body of water on which it floats? Would life have survived the
countless ice ages on the bottom of frozen lakes?
Waters distinctive structure and its innate polarity result in a
collective attraction for itself via a force called hydrogen bonding.
Hydrogen bonds are not as strong as the covalent bonds that hold
water molecules together, but the sheer number of them involved