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The Nature of Water: P - A - R - T - 1
The Nature of Water: P - A - R - T - 1
The Nature of Water: P - A - R - T - 1
Three-quarters of the surface of the earth is covered with water. While this is an
impressive statistic, it is pale beside the spectacular photographs that have come
to us from outer space. They reveal a beautiful blue planet bathed in water, partly
hidden by a veil of vapor.
Life came into being in this water. As living things became more complex and
specialized, they left the sea for the land, taking water with them as the major part
of their bodies. On the Planet Earth, water is life.
A philosopher observed that the proper study of mankind is man; the water
chemist paraphrases this: "The proper study of water is the water molecule." The
formula for water—H2O—by itself tells us only its composition and molecular
weight. It does nothing to explain the remarkable properties that result from its
unique molecular arrangement (see Figure 1.1). Two hydrogen atoms are located
105° apart, adjacent to the oxygen atom, so that the molecule is asymmetrical,
positively charged on the hydrogen side and negatively charged on the oxygen
side. For this reason, water is said to be dipolar. This causes the molecules to
agglomerate, the hydrogen of one molecule attracting the oxygen of a neighboring
molecule. The linking of molecules resulting from this attractive force is called
hydrogen bonding,
One of the consequences of hydrogen bonding is that molecules OfH 2 O cannot
leave the surface of a body of water as readily as they could without this inter-
molecular attraction. The energy required to rupture the hydrogen bond and lib-
erate a molecule of H2O to form vapor is much greater than for other common
chemical compounds. Because of this fact, the water vapor—steam—has a high
energy content and is an effective medium for transferring energy in industrial
plant operations, buildings, and homes.
Water also releases more heat upon freezing than do other compounds. Fur-
thermore, for each incremental change in temperature, water absorbs or releases
more heat—i.e., has great heat capacity—than many substances, so it is an effec-
tive heat transfer medium.
The freezing of water is unusual compared to other liquids. Hydrogen bonding
produces a crystal arrangement that causes ice to expand beyond its original liq-
uid volume so that its density is less than that of the liquid and the ice floats. If
this were not the case, lakes would freeze from the bottom up, and life as we know
it could not exist.
Table 1.1 compares the boiling point and other heat properties of water with
similar molecules, such as hydrogen sulfide, and with dissimilar compounds that
are liquid at room temperature.
Because of the unusual structure of the water molecule, it is present in the
Hydrogen
Molecule
Water Molecule
Oxygen
Molecule
Hydrogen
Molecule
Water Molecule
FIG. 1.1 The joining of diatomic hydrogen and oxygen molecules to
produce water molecules of a polar nature.
Latent heat of
Specific Freezing point, Boiling point, evaporation,
0 0
Substance heat C C cal/g
H2O 1.00 O 100 540
H2S -83 -62 132
Methanol 0.57 -98 65 263
Ethanol 0.54 -117 79 204
Benzene 0.39 6 80 94
Meniscus
FIG. 1.3 A meniscus forms (left) when hydrogen atoms reach upward to
wet oxide surfaces at the water line in a glass tube. The drawing at the right
shows how hydrogen bonding of water to a thin glass tube causes the water
in the tube to rise above the level of the surrounding water. Some liquids
other than water do not wet a glass surface. They form an inverted meniscus.
Water is often called the universal solvent. Water molecules in contact with a
crystal orient themselves to neutralize the attractive forces between the ions in
the crystal structure. The liberated ions are then hydrated by these water mole-
cules as shown in Figure 1.4, preventing them from recombining and recrystal-
izing. This solvency and hydration effect is shown quantitatively by water's rela-
tively high dielectric constant.
(Water Molecule)
FIG. 1.4 The orientation of water molecules tends to keep ions from recom-
bining and thus precipitating from solution. This accounts for water's capa-
bilities as a solvent.
Water ionizes so very slightly, producing only 10 7 moles of hydrogen and 10~7
moles of hydroxyl ions per liter, that it is an insulator—it cannot conduct electri-
cal current. As salts or other ionizing materials dissolve in water, electrical con-
ductivity develops. The conductivity of naturally occurring waters provides a
measure of their dissolved mineral content (Figure 1.5).
Los Angeles
Specific Conductance,
Omaha
Atlanta
Greenville, S.C.
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