Water

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This article is about general aspects of water. For a
detailed discussion of its properties, see Properties
of water. For other uses, see Water
(disambiguation).

Water in three states: liquid, solid (ice), and

(invisible) water vapor in the air. Clouds are
accumulations of water droplets, condensed from
vapor-saturated air.
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical
formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and
two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds.
Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often
co-exists 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.[1][2]
Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface,[3] and is
vital for all known forms of life.[4] On Earth, it is
found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies,
with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and
0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid
and liquid water particles suspended in air), and
precipitation.[5] Oceans hold 97% of surface water,
glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land
surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%.
A very small amount of the Earth's water is
contained within biological bodies and manufactured
products.
Water on Earth moves continually through a cycle of
evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration),
precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea.
Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute
to the precipitation over land.
Clean drinking water is essential to humans and
other lifeforms. Access to safe drinking water has
improved steadily and substantially over the last
decades in almost every part of the world.[6][7] There
is a clear correlation between access to safe water
and GDP per capita.[8] However, some observers

have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the

world population will be facing water-based
vulnerability.[9] A recent report (November 2009)
suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of
the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%.
[10]
Water plays an important role in the world
economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide
variety of chemical substances and facilitates
industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately
70% of freshwater is consumed by agriculture.[11]
Contents
[hide]
1 Chemical and physical properties
2 Taste and odor
3 Distribution in nature
o 3.1 In the universe
o 3.2 Water and habitable zone
4 On Earth
o 4.1 Water cycle
o 4.2 Fresh water storage
o 4.3 Sea water
o 4.4 Tides

 5 Effects on life
o 5.1 Aquatic life forms
6 Effects on human civilization
o 6.1 Health and pollution
o 6.2 Human uses
6.2.1 Agriculture
6.2.2 As a scientific standard
6.2.3 For drinking
6.2.4 Washing
6.2.5 Chemical uses
6.2.6 Heat exchange
6.2.7 Fire extinction
6.2.8 Recreation
6.2.9 Water industry
6.2.10 Industrial applications
6.2.11 Food processing
7 Water law, water politics and water crisis
8 In culture
o 8.1 Religion
o 8.2 Philosophy
o 8.3 Literature

 9 See also
o 9.1 Other topics
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Chemical and physical properties
Main articles: Water (properties), Water (data
page), and Water model

Model of hydrogen bonds (1) between molecules of

water

Impact from a water drop causes an upward

"rebound" jet surrounded by circular capillary
waves.

Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902

Dew drops adhering to a spider web

Capillary action of water compared to mercury

Water is the chemical substance with chemical
formula H2O: one molecule of water has two
hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single
oxygen atom.
Water appears in nature in all three common states of
matter and may take many different forms on Earth:
water vapor and clouds in the sky; seawater and
icebergs in the polar oceans; glaciers and rivers in
the mountains; and the liquid in aquifers in the
ground.
At high temperatures and pressures, such as in the
interior of giant planets, it is argued that water exists
as ionic water in which the molecules break down
into a soup of hydrogen and oxygen ions, and at
even higher pressures as superionic water in which

the oxygen crystallises but the hydrogen ions float

around freely within the oxygen lattice.[12]
The major chemical and physical properties of water
are:
Water is a liquid at standard temperature and
pressure. It is tasteless and odorless. The
intrinsic color of water and ice is a very slight
blue hue, although both appear colorless in small
quantities. Water vapor is essentially invisible as
a gas.[13]
Water is transparent in the visible
electromagnetic spectrum. Thus aquatic plants
can live in water because sunlight can reach
them. Ultra-violet and infrared light is strongly
absorbed.
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. Water also can
form an unusually large number of
intermolecular hydrogen bonds (four) for a
molecule of its size. These factors lead to strong

attractive forces between molecules of water,

giving rise to water's high surface tension[14] and
capillary forces. 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.
[citation needed]

Water is a good solvent and is often[quantify]

referred to[by whom?] 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 do not mix well
with water (e.g., fats and oils), are known as
hydrophobic (water-fearing) substances.
All the major components in cells (proteins,
DNA and polysaccharides) are also dissolved in
water.
Pure water has a low electrical conductivity, but
this increases significantly with the dissolution
of a small amount of ionic material such as
sodium chloride.

 The boiling point of water (and all other liquids)

is dependent on the barometric pressure. For
example, on the top of Mt. Everest water boils at
68 C (154 F), compared to 100 C (212 F) at
sea level. Conversely, water deep in the ocean
near geothermal vents can reach temperatures of
hundreds of degrees and remain liquid.
At 4181.3 J/(kgK), water has the second highest
specific heat capacity of any known substance
(after ammonia), as well as a high heat of
vaporization (40.65 kJmol1), 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.
The maximum density of water occurs at 3.98
C (39.16 F).[15] It has the anomalous property
of becoming less dense, not more, when it is
cooled down to its solid form, ice. It expands to
occupy 9% greater volume in this solid state,
which accounts for the fact of ice floating on
liquid water.

 Its Density is 1,000 kg/m3 liquid (4 C), and

weighs 62.4 lb/ft.3 (917 kg/m3, solid). It weighs
8.3454 lb/gal. (US, liquid) [16]

ADR label for transporting goods dangerously

reactive with water
Water is miscible with many liquids, such as
ethanol, in all proportions, forming a single
homogeneous liquid. On the other hand, water
and most oils are immiscible usually forming
layers according to increasing density from the
top. As a gas, water vapor is completely miscible
with air.
Water forms an azeotrope with many other
solvents.
Water can be split by electrolysis into hydrogen
and oxygen.

 As an oxide of hydrogen, water is formed when

hydrogen or hydrogen-containing compounds
burn or react with oxygen or oxygen-containing
compounds. Water is not a fuel, it is an endproduct of the combustion of hydrogen. The
energy required to split water into hydrogen and
oxygen by electrolysis or any other means is
greater than the energy that can be collected
when the hydrogen and oxygen recombine.[17]
Elements which are more electropositive than
hydrogen such as lithium, sodium, calcium,
potassium and caesium displace hydrogen from
water, forming hydroxides. Being a flammable
gas, the hydrogen given off is dangerous and the
reaction of water with the more electropositive
of these elements may be violently explosive.
Taste and odor
Water can dissolve many different substances, giving
it varying tastes and odors. Humans and other
animals have developed senses which enable them to
evaluate the potability of water by avoiding water
that is too salty or putrid. The taste of spring water
and mineral water, often advertised in marketing of
consumer products, derives from the minerals
dissolved in it. However, pure H2O is tasteless and

odorless. The advertised purity of spring and mineral

water refers to absence of toxins, pollutants and
microbes.
Distribution in nature
In the universe
Much of the universe's water is produced as a
byproduct of star formation. When stars are born,
their birth is accompanied by a strong outward wind
of gas and dust. When this outflow of material
eventually impacts the surrounding gas, the shock
waves that are created compress and heat the gas.
The water observed is quickly produced in this warm
dense gas.[18]
Water has been detected in interstellar clouds within
our galaxy, the Milky Way. Water probably exists in
abundance in other galaxies, too, because its
components, hydrogen and oxygen, are among the
most abundant elements in the universe. Interstellar
clouds eventually condense into solar nebulae and
solar systems such as ours.
Water vapor is present in
Atmosphere of Mercury: 3.4%, and large
amounts of water in Mercury's exosphere[19]
Atmosphere of Venus: 0.002%

 Earth's atmosphere: ~0.40% over full

atmosphere, typically 14% at surface
Atmosphere of Mars: 0.03%
Atmosphere of Jupiter: 0.0004%
Atmosphere of Saturn in ices only
Enceladus (moon of Saturn): 91%
exoplanets known as HD 189733 b[20] and HD
209458 b.[21]
Liquid water is present on
Earth: 71% of surface
Strong evidence suggests that liquid water is present
just under the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Jupiter's moon Europa may have liquid water in the
form of a 100 km deep subsurface ocean, which
would amount to more water than is in all the Earth's
oceans.
Water ice is present on
Earth mainly as ice sheets
polar ice caps on Mars
Moon
Titan
Europa

Saturn's rings[22]
Enceladus
Pluto and Charon[22]
Comets and comet source populations (Kuiper
belt and Oort cloud objects).
Water ice may be present on Ceres and Tethys.
Water and other volatiles probably comprise much
of the internal structures of Uranus and Neptune and
the water in the deeper layers may be in the form of
ionic water in which the molecules break down into
a soup of hydrogen and oxygen ions, and deeper
down as superionic water in which the oxygen
crystallises but the hydrogen ions float around freely
within the oxygen lattice.[12]
Some of the Moon's minerals contain water
molecules. For instance, in 2008 a laboratory device
which ejects and identifies particles found small
amounts of the compound in the inside of volcanic
pearls brought from Moon to Earth by the Apollo 15
crew in 1971.[23] NASA reported the detection of
water molecules by NASA's Moon Mineralogy
Mapper aboard the Indian Space Research
Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in
September 2009.[24]

Water and habitable zone

The existence of liquid water, and to a lesser extent
its gaseous and solid forms, on Earth are vital to the
existence of life on Earth as we know it. The Earth is
located in the habitable zone of the solar system; if it
were slightly closer to or farther from the Sun (about
5%, or about 8 million kilometers), the conditions
which allow the three forms to be present
simultaneously would be far less likely to exist.[25][26]
Earth's gravity allows it to hold an atmosphere.
Water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
provide a temperature buffer (greenhouse effect)
which helps maintain a relatively steady surface
temperature. If Earth were smaller, a thinner
atmosphere would allow temperature extremes, thus
preventing the accumulation of water except in polar
ice caps (as on Mars).
The surface temperature of Earth has been relatively
constant through geologic time despite varying
levels of incoming solar radiation (insolation),
indicating that a dynamic process governs Earth's
temperature via a combination of greenhouse gases
and surface or atmospheric albedo. This proposal is
known as the Gaia hypothesis.

The state of water on a planet depends on ambient

pressure, which is determined by the planet's gravity.
If a planet is sufficiently massive, the water on it
may be solid even at high temperatures, because of
the high pressure caused by gravity, as it was
observed on exoplanets Gliese 436 b[27] and GJ 1214
b.[28]
There are various theories about origin of water on
Earth.
On Earth
Main articles: Hydrology and Water distribution on
Earth

A graphical distribution of the locations of water on

Earth.

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface; the oceans

contain 97.2% of the Earth's water. The Antarctic ice
sheet, which contains 61% of all fresh water on
Earth, is visible at the bottom. Condensed
atmospheric water can be seen as clouds,
contributing to the Earth's albedo.
Hydrology is the study of the movement,
distribution, and quality of water throughout the
Earth. The study of the distribution of water is
hydrography. The study of the distribution and
movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, of
glaciers is glaciology, of inland waters is limnology
and distribution of oceans is oceanography.
Ecological processes with hydrology are in focus of
ecohydrology.
The collective mass of water found on, under, and
over the surface of a planet is called the
hydrosphere. Earth's approximate water volume (the

total water supply of the world) is

1,360,000,000 km3 (326,000,000 mi3).
Groundwater and fresh water are useful or
potentially useful to humans as water resources.
Liquid water is found in bodies of water, such as an
ocean, sea, lake, river, stream, canal, pond, or
puddle. The majority of water on Earth is sea water.
Water is also present in the atmosphere in solid,
liquid, and vapor states. It also exists as groundwater
in aquifers.
Water is important in many geological processes.
Groundwater is present in most rocks, and the
pressure of this groundwater affects patterns of
faulting. Water in the mantle is responsible for the
melt that produces volcanoes at subduction zones.
On the surface of the Earth, water is important in
both chemical and physical weathering processes.
Water and, to a lesser but still significant extent, ice,
are also responsible for a large amount of sediment
transport that occurs on the surface of the earth.
Deposition of transported sediment forms many
types of sedimentary rocks, which make up the
geologic record of Earth history.
Water cycle
Main article: Water cycle

Water cycle
The water cycle (known scientifically as the
hydrologic cycle) refers to the continuous exchange
of water within the hydrosphere, between the
atmosphere, soil water, surface water, groundwater,
and plants.
Water moves perpetually through each of these
regions in the water cycle consisting of following
transfer processes:
evaporation from oceans and other water bodies
into the air and transpiration from land plants
and animals into air.
precipitation, from water vapor condensing from
the air and falling to earth or ocean.
runoff from the land usually reaching the sea.

Most water vapor over the oceans returns to the

oceans, but winds carry water vapor over land at the
same rate as runoff into the sea, about 36 Tt per year.
Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute
another 71 Tt per year. Precipitation, at a rate of 107
Tt per year over land, has several forms: most
commonly rain, snow, and hail, with some
contribution from fog and dew. Condensed water in
the air may also refract sunlight to produce
rainbows.
Water runoff often collects over watersheds flowing
into rivers. A mathematical model used to simulate
river or stream flow and calculate water quality
parameters is hydrological transport model. Some of
water is diverted to irrigation for agriculture. Rivers
and seas offer opportunity for travel and commerce.
Through erosion, runoff shapes the environment
creating river valleys and deltas which provide rich
soil and level ground for the establishment of
population centers. A flood occurs when an area of
land, usually low-lying, is covered with water. It is
when a river overflows its banks or flood from the
sea. A drought is an extended period of months or
years when a region notes a deficiency in its water

supply. This occurs when a region receives

consistently below average precipitation.
Fresh water storage

High tide (left) and low tide (right)

Main article: Water resources
Some runoff water is trapped for periods of time, for
example in lakes. At high altitude, during winter, and
in the far north and south, snow collects in ice caps,
snow pack and glaciers. Water also infiltrates the
ground and goes into aquifers. This groundwater
later flows back to the surface in springs, or more
spectacularly in hot springs and geysers.
Groundwater is also extracted artificially in wells.
This water storage is important, since clean, fresh
water is essential to human and other land-based life.
In many parts of the world, it is in short supply.

Sea water
Sea water contains about 3.5% salt on average, plus
smaller amounts of other substances. The physical
properties of sea water differ from fresh water in
some important respects. It freezes at a lower
temperature (about 1.9 C) and its density increases
with decreasing temperature to the freezing point,
instead of reaching maximum density at a
temperature above freezing. The salinity of water in
major seas varies from about 0.7% in the Baltic Sea
to 4.0% in the Red Sea.
Tides
Tides are the cyclic rising and falling of local sea
levels caused by the tidal forces of the Moon and the
Sun acting on the oceans. Tides cause changes in the
depth of the marine and estuarine water bodies and
produce oscillating currents known as tidal streams.
The changing tide produced at a given location is the
result of the changing positions of the Moon and Sun
relative to the Earth coupled with the effects of Earth
rotation and the local bathymetry. The strip of
seashore that is submerged at high tide and exposed
at low tide, the intertidal zone, is an important
ecological product of ocean tides.
Effects on life

An oasis is an isolated water source with vegetation

in desert

Overview of photosynthesis and respiration. Water

(at right), together with carbon dioxide (CO2), form
oxygen and organic compounds (at left), which can
be respired to water and (CO2).
From a biological standpoint, water has many
distinct properties that are critical for the
proliferation of life that set it apart from other
substances. It carries out this role by allowing
organic compounds to react in ways that ultimately
allow replication. All known forms of life depend on

water. Water is vital both as a solvent in which many

of the body's solutes dissolve and as an essential part
of many metabolic processes within the body.
Metabolism is the sum total of anabolism and
catabolism. In anabolism, water is removed from
molecules (through energy requiring enzymatic
chemical reactions) in order to grow larger
molecules (e.g. starches, triglycerides and proteins
for storage of fuels and information). In catabolism,
water is used to break bonds in order to generate
smaller molecules (e.g. glucose, fatty acids and
amino acids to be used for fuels for energy use or
other purposes). Without water, these particular
metabolic processes could not exist.
Water is fundamental to photosynthesis and
respiration. Photosynthetic cells use the sun's energy
to split off water's hydrogen from oxygen. Hydrogen
is combined with CO2 (absorbed from air or water)
to form glucose and release oxygen. All living cells
use such fuels and oxidize the hydrogen and carbon
to capture the sun's energy and reform water and
CO2 in the process (cellular respiration).
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.

Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef

Aquatic life forms
Main articles: Hydrobiology and Aquatic plant

Some marine diatoms a key phytoplankton group

Earth's surface waters are filled with life. The

earliest life forms appeared in water; nearly all fish
live exclusively in water, and there are many types
of marine mammals, such as dolphins and whales.
Some kinds of animals, such as amphibians, spend
portions of their lives in water and portions on land.
Plants such as kelp and algae grow in the water and
are the basis for some underwater ecosystems.
Plankton is generally the foundation of the ocean
food chain.
Aquatic vertebrates must obtain oxygen to survive,
and they do so in various ways. Fish have gills
instead of lungs, although some species of fish, such
as the lungfish, have both. Marine mammals, such as
dolphins, whales, otters, and seals need to surface
periodically to breathe air. Some amphibians are able
to absorb oxygen through their skin. Invertebrates
exhibit a wide range of modifications to survive in
poorly oxygenated waters including breathing tubes
(see insect and mollusc siphons) and gills
(Carcinus). However as invertebrate life evolved in
an aquatic habitat most have little or no
specialisation for respiration in water.
Effects on human civilization

Water fountain
Civilization has historically flourished around rivers
and major waterways; Mesopotamia, the so-called
cradle of civilization, was situated between the
major rivers Tigris and Euphrates; the ancient
society of the Egyptians depended entirely upon the
Nile. Large metropolises like Rotterdam, London,
Montreal, Paris, New York City, Buenos Aires,
Shanghai, Tokyo, Chicago, and Hong Kong owe
their success in part to their easy accessibility via
water and the resultant expansion of trade. Islands
with safe water ports, like Singapore, have
flourished for the same reason. In places such as
North Africa and the Middle East, where water is
more scarce, access to clean drinking water was and
is a major factor in human development.
Health and pollution

Environmental Science Program, Iowa State

University student sampling water.
Water fit for human consumption is called drinking
water or potable water. Water that is not potable may
be made potable by filtration or distillation, or by a
range of other methods.
Water that is not fit for drinking but is not harmful
for humans when used for swimming or bathing is
called by various names other than potable or
drinking water, and is sometimes called safe water,
or "safe for bathing". Chlorine is a skin and mucous
membrane irritant that is used to make water safe for
bathing or drinking. Its use is highly technical and is
usually monitored by government regulations
(typically 1 part per million (ppm) for drinking
water, and 12 ppm of chlorine not yet reacted with
impurities for bathing water). Water for bathing may
be maintained in satisfactory microbiological

condition using chemical disinfectants such as

chlorine or ozone or by the use of ultraviolet light.
In the USA, non-potable forms of wastewater
generated by humans may be referred to as
greywater, which is treatable and thus easily able to
be made potable again, and blackwater, which
generally contains sewage and other forms of waste
which require further treatment in order to be made
reusable. Greywater composes 5080% of
residential wastewater generated by a household's
sanitation equipment (sinks, showers and kitchen
runoff, but not toilets, which generate blackwater.)
These terms may have different meanings in other
countries and cultures.
This natural resource is becoming scarcer in certain
places, and its availability is a major social and
economic concern. Currently, about a billion people
around the world routinely drink unhealthy water.
Most countries accepted the goal of halving by 2015
the number of people worldwide who do not have
access to safe water and sanitation during the 2003
G8 Evian summit.[29] Even if this difficult goal is
met, it will still leave more than an estimated half a
billion people without access to safe drinking water
and over a billion without access to adequate

sanitation. Poor water quality and bad sanitation are

deadly; some five million deaths a year are caused
by polluted drinking water. The World Health
Organization estimates that safe water could prevent
1.4 million child deaths from diarrhea each year.[30]
Water, however, is not a finite resource, but rather
re-circulated as potable water in precipitation in
quantities many degrees of magnitude higher than
human consumption. Therefore, it is the relatively
small quantity of water in reserve in the earth (about
1% of our drinking water supply, which is
replenished in aquifers around every 1 to 10 years),
that is a non-renewable resource, and it is, rather, the
distribution of potable and irrigation water which is
scarce, rather than the actual amount of it that exists
on the earth. Water-poor countries use importation of
goods as the primary method of importing water (to
leave enough for local human consumption), since
the manufacturing process uses around 10 to 100
times products' masses in water.
In the developing world, 90% of all wastewater still
goes untreated into local rivers and streams.[31] Some
50 countries, with roughly a third of the worlds
population, also suffer from medium or high water
stress, and 17 of these extract more water annually

than is recharged through their natural water cycles.

[32]
The strain not only affects surface freshwater
bodies like rivers and lakes, but it also degrades
groundwater resources.
Human uses
Further information: Water supply
Agriculture

Irrigation of field crops

The most important use of water in agriculture is for
irrigation, which is a key component to produce
enough food. Irrigation takes up to 90% of water
withdrawn in some developing countries[33] and
significant proportions in more economically
developed countries (United States, 30% of
freshwater usage is for irrigation).[34] It takes around
3,000 litres of water, converted from liquid to
vapour, to produce enough food to satisfy one
person's daily dietary need. This is a considerable
amount, when compared to that required for

drinking, which is between two and five litres. To

produce food for the 6.5 billion or so people who
inhabit the planet today requires the water that
would fill a canal ten metres deep, 100 metres wide
and 7.1 million kilometres long that's enough to
circle the globe 180 times.
Fifty years ago, the common perception was that
water was an infinite resource. At this time, there
were fewer than half the current number of people
on the planet. People were not as wealthy as today,
consumed fewer calories and ate less meat, so less
water was needed to produce their food. They
required a third of the volume of water we presently
take from rivers. Today, the competition for water
resources is much more intense. This is because
there are now nearly seven billion people on the
planet, their consumption of water-thirsty meat and
vegetables is rising, and there is increasing
competition for water from industry, urbanisation
and biofuel crops. In future, even more water will be
needed to produce food because the Earth's
population is forecast to rise to 9 billion by 2050.[35]
An additional 2.5 or 3 billion people, choosing to eat
fewer cereals and more meat and vegetables could

add an additional five million kilometres to the

virtual canal mentioned above.
An assessment of water management in agriculture
was conducted in 2007 by the International Water
Management Institute in Sri Lanka to see if the
world had sufficient water to provide food for its
growing population.[36] It assessed the current
availability of water for agriculture on a global scale
and mapped out locations suffering from water
scarcity. It found that a fifth of the world's people,
more than 1.2 billion, live in areas of physical water
scarcity, where there is not enough water to meet all
demands. A further 1.6 billion people live in areas
experiencing economic water scarcity, where the
lack of investment in water or insufficient human
capacity make it impossible for authorities to satisfy
the demand for water. The report found that it would
be possible to produce the food required in future,
but that continuation of today's food production and
environmental trends would lead to crises in many
parts of the world. To avoid a global water crisis,
farmers will have to strive to increase productivity to
meet growing demands for food, while industry and
cities find ways to use water more efficiently.[37]
As a scientific standard

On 7 April 1795, the gram was defined in France to

be equal to "the absolute weight of a volume of pure
water equal to a cube of one hundredth of a meter,
and to the temperature of the melting ice."[38] For
practical purposes though, a metallic reference
standard was required, one thousand times more
massive, the kilogram. Work was therefore
commissioned to determine precisely the mass of
one liter of water. In spite of the fact that the decreed
definition of the gram specified water at 0 Ca
highly reproducible temperaturethe scientists
chose to redefine the standard and to perform their
measurements at the temperature of highest water
density, which was measured at the time as 4 C
(39 F).[39]
The Kelvin temperature scale of the SI system is
based on the triple point of water, defined as exactly
273.16 K or 0.01 C. The scale is an absolute
temperature scale with the same increment as the
Celsius temperature scale, which was originally
defined according the boiling point (set to 100 C)
and melting point (set to 0 C) of water.
Natural water consists mainly of the isotopes
hydrogen-1 and oxygen-16, but there is also small
quantity of heavier isotopes such as hydrogen-2

(deuterium). The amount of deuterium oxides or

heavy water is very small, but it still affects the
properties of water. Water from rivers and lakes
tends to contain less deuterium than seawater.
Therefore, standard water is defined in the Vienna
Standard Mean Ocean Water specification.
For drinking
Main article: Drinking water

A young girl drinking bottled water

Water quality: fraction of population using improved

water sources by country
The human body contains anywhere from 55% to
78% water depending on body size.[40] To function
properly, the body requires between one and seven
liters of water per day to avoid dehydration; the
precise amount depends on the level of activity,

temperature, humidity, and other factors. Most of

this is ingested through foods or beverages other
than drinking straight water. It is not clear how much
water intake is needed by healthy people, though
most advocates agree that 67 glasses of water
(approximately 2 liters) daily is the minimum to
maintain proper hydration.[41] Medical literature
favors a lower consumption, typically 1 liter of
water for an average male, excluding extra
requirements due to fluid loss from exercise or warm
weather.[42] For those who have healthy kidneys, it is
rather difficult to drink too much water, but
(especially in warm humid weather and while
exercising) it is dangerous to drink too little. People
can drink far more water than necessary while
exercising, however, putting them at risk of water
intoxication (hyperhydration), which can be fatal.
The popular claim that "a person should consume
eight glasses of water per day" seems to have no real
basis in science.[43] Similar misconceptions
concerning the effect of water on weight loss and
constipation have also been dispelled.[44]

Hazard symbol for Not drinking water

An original recommendation for water intake in
1945 by the Food and Nutrition Board of the
National Research Council read: "An ordinary
standard for diverse persons is 1 milliliter for each
calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in
prepared foods."[45] The latest dietary reference
intake report by the United States National Research
Council in general recommended (including food
sources): 2.7 liters of water total for women and 3.7
liters for men.[46] Specifically, pregnant and
breastfeeding women need additional fluids to stay
hydrated. According to the Institute of Medicine
who recommend that, on average, women consume
2.2 liters and men 3.0 litersthis is recommended to
be 2.4 liters (10 cups) for pregnant women and 3
liters (12 cups) for breastfeeding women since an
especially large amount of fluid is lost during

nursing.[47] Also noted is that normally, about 20% of

water intake comes from food, while the rest comes
from drinking water and beverages (caffeinated
included). Water is excreted from the body in
multiple forms; through urine and faeces, through
sweating, and by exhalation of water vapor in the
breath. With physical exertion and heat exposure,
water loss will increase and daily fluid needs may
increase as well.
Humans require water that does not contain too
many impurities. Common impurities include metal
salts and oxides (including copper, iron, calcium and
lead)[48] and/or harmful bacteria, such as Vibrio.
Some solutes are acceptable and even desirable for
taste enhancement and to provide needed
electrolytes.[49]
The single largest (by volume) freshwater resource
suitable for drinking is Lake Baikal in Siberia.[50]
Washing
The propensity of water to form solutions and
emulsions is useful in various washing processes.
Many industrial processes rely on reactions using
chemicals dissolved in water, suspension of solids in
water slurries or using water to dissolve and extract

substances. Washing is also an important component

of several aspects of personal body hygiene.
Chemical uses
Water is widely used in chemical reactions as a
solvent or reactant and less commonly as a solute or
catalyst. In inorganic reactions, water is a common
solvent, dissolving many ionic compounds. In
organic reactions, it is not usually used as a reaction
solvent, because it does not dissolve the reactants
well and is amphoteric (acidic and basic) and
nucleophilic. Nevertheless, these properties are
sometimes desirable. Also, acceleration of DielsAlder reactions by water has been observed.
Supercritical water has recently been a topic of
research. Oxygen-saturated supercritical water
combusts organic pollutants efficiently.
Heat exchange

Ice used for cooling.

Water and steam are used as heat transfer fluids in
diverse heat exchange systems, due to its availability
and high heat capacity, both as a coolant and for
heating. Cool water may even be naturally available
from a lake or the sea. Condensing steam is a
particularly efficient heating fluid because of the
large heat of vaporization. A disadvantage is that
water and steam are somewhat corrosive. In almost
all electric power stations, water is the coolant,
which vaporizes and drives steam turbines to drive
generators. In the U.S., cooling power plants is the
largest use of water.[34]
In the nuclear power industry, water can also be used
as a neutron moderator. In most nuclear reactors,
water is both a coolant and a moderator. This
provides something of a passive safety measure, as
removing the water from the reactor also slows the
nuclear reaction down however other methods are
favored for stopping a reaction and it is preferred to
keep the nuclear core covered with water so as to
ensure adequate cooling.
Fire extinction

Water is used for fighting wildfires.

Water has a high heat of vaporization and is
relatively inert, which makes it a good fire
extinguishing fluid. The evaporation of water carries
heat away from the fire. However, only distilled
water can be used to fight fires of electric
equipment, because impure water is electrically
conductive. Water is not suitable for use on fires of
oils and organic solvents, because they float on
water and the explosive boiling of water tends to
spread the burning liquid.
Use of water in fire fighting should also take into
account the hazards of a steam explosion, which
may occur when water is used on very hot fires in
confined spaces, and of a hydrogen explosion, when
substances which react with water, such as certain
metals or hot graphite, decompose the water,
producing hydrogen gas.
The power of such explosions was seen in the
Chernobyl disaster, although the water involved did

not come from fire-fighting at that time but the

reactor's own water cooling system. A steam
explosion occurred when the extreme over-heating
of the core caused water to flash into steam. A
hydrogen explosion may have occurred as a result of
reaction between steam and hot zirconium.
Recreation

Grand Anse Beach, St. George's, Grenada, West

Indies, often reported as one of the top 10 beaches in
the world.
Main article: Water sport (recreation)
Humans use water for many recreational purposes,
as well as for exercising and for sports. Some of
these include swimming, waterskiing, boating,
surfing and diving. In addition, some sports, like ice
hockey and ice skating, are played on ice. Lakesides,
beaches and waterparks are popular places for
people to go to relax and enjoy recreation. Many
find the sound and appearance of flowing water to
be calming, and fountains and other water features

are popular decorations. Some keep fish and other

life in aquariums or ponds for show, fun, and
companionship. Humans also use water for snow
sports i.e. skiing, sledding, snowmobiling or
snowboarding, which requires the water to be
frozen. People may also use water for play fighting
such as with snowballs, water guns or water
balloons.
Water industry

A water-carrier in India, 1882. In many places where

running water was not available, water had to be
transported by people.

A manual water pump in China

Water purification facility

The water industry provides drinking water and
wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to
households and industry. Water supply facilities
include water wells cisterns for rainwater harvesting,
water supply network, water purification facilities,
water tanks, water towers, water pipes including old
aqueducts. Atmospheric water generators are in
development.
Drinking water is often collected at springs,
extracted from artificial borings (wells) in the
ground, or pumped from lakes and rivers. Building
more wells in adequate places is thus a possible way
to produce more water, assuming the aquifers can

supply an adequate flow. Other water sources

include rainwater collection. Water may require
purification for human consumption. This may
involve removal of undissolved substances,
dissolved substances and harmful microbes. Popular
methods are filtering with sand which only removes
undissolved material, while chlorination and boiling
kill harmful microbes. Distillation does all three
functions. More advanced techniques exist, such as
reverse osmosis. Desalination of abundant seawater
is a more expensive solution used in coastal arid
climates.
The distribution of drinking water is done through
municipal water systems, tanker delivery or as
bottled water. Governments in many countries have
programs to distribute water to the needy at no
charge. Others[who?] argue that the market mechanism
and free enterprise are best to manage this rare
resource and to finance the boring of wells or the
construction of dams and reservoirs.
Reducing usage by using drinking (potable) water
only for human consumption is another option. In
some cities such as Hong Kong, sea water is
extensively used for flushing toilets citywide in
order to conserve fresh water resources.

Polluting water may be the biggest single misuse of

water; to the extent that a pollutant limits other uses
of the water, it becomes a waste of the resource,
regardless of benefits to the polluter. Like other
types of pollution, this does not enter standard
accounting of market costs, being conceived as
externalities for which the market cannot account.
Thus other people pay the price of water pollution,
while the private firms' profits are not redistributed
to the local population victim of this pollution.
Pharmaceuticals consumed by humans often end up
in the waterways and can have detrimental effects on
aquatic life if they bioaccumulate and if they are not
biodegradable.
Wastewater facilities are storm sewers and
wastewater treatment plants. Another way to remove
pollution from surface runoff water is bioswale.
Industrial applications
Water is used in power generation. Hydroelectricity
is electricity obtained from hydropower.
Hydroelectric power comes from water driving a
water turbine connected to a generator.
Hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting,
renewable energy source. The energy is supplied by
the sun. Heat from the sun evaporates water, which

condenses as rain in higher altitudes, from where it

flows down.

Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydro-electric

power station.
Pressurized water is used in water blasting and water
jet cutters. Also, very high pressure water guns are
used for precise cutting. It works very well, is
relatively safe, and is not harmful to the
environment. It is also used in the cooling of
machinery to prevent over-heating, or prevent saw
blades from over-heating.
Water is also used in many industrial processes and
machines, such as the steam turbine and heat
exchanger, in addition to its use as a chemical
solvent. Discharge of untreated water from industrial
uses is pollution. Pollution includes discharged

solutes (chemical pollution) and discharged coolant

water (thermal pollution). Industry requires pure
water for many applications and utilizes a variety of
purification techniques both in water supply and
discharge.
Food processing

Water can be used to cook foods such as noodles.

Water plays many critical roles within the field of
food science. It is important for a food scientist to
understand the roles that water plays within food
processing to ensure the success of their products.
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.[51] Solutes in
water also affect water activity which affects many
chemical reactions and the growth of microbes in
food.[52] Water activity can be described as a ratio of
the vapor pressure of water in a solution to the vapor
pressure of pure water.[51] Solutes in water lower
water activity. This is important to know because
most bacterial growth ceases at low levels of water
activity.[52] Not only does microbial growth affect the
safety of food but also the preservation and shelf life
of food.
Water hardness is also a critical factor in food
processing. It can dramatically affect the quality of a
product as well as playing a role in sanitation. Water
hardness is classified based on the amounts of
removable calcium carbonate salt it contains per
gallon. Water hardness is measured in grains; 0.064
g calcium carbonate is equivalent to one grain of
hardness.[51] Water is classified as soft if it contains 1
to 4 grains, medium if it contains 5 to 10 grains and
hard if it contains 11 to 20 grains.[vague] [51] The
hardness of water may be altered or treated by using
a chemical ion exchange system. The hardness of

water also affects its pH balance which plays a

critical role in food processing. For example, hard
water prevents successful production of clear
beverages. Water hardness also affects sanitation;
with increasing hardness, there is a loss of
effectiveness for its use as a sanitizer.[51]
Boiling, steaming, and simmering are popular
cooking methods that often require immersing food
in water or its gaseous state, steam. Water is also
used for dishwashing.
Water law, water politics and water crisis

An estimate of the share of people in developing

countries with access to potable water 19702000
Main articles: Water law, Water right, and Water
crisis
Water politics is politics affected by water and water
resources. For this reason, water is a strategic

resource in the globe and an important element in

many political conflicts. It causes health impacts and
damage to biodiversity.
1.6 billion people have gained access to a safe water
source since 1990.[53] The proportion of people in
developing countries with access to safe water is
calculated to have improved from 30% in 1970[6] to
71% in 1990, 79% in 2000 and 84% in 2004. This
trend is projected to continue.[7] To halve, by 2015,
the proportion of people without sustainable access
to safe drinking water is one of the Millennium
Development Goals. This goal is projected to be
reached.
A 2006 United Nations report stated that "there is
enough water for everyone", but that access to it is
hampered by mismanagement and corruption.[54] In
addition, global initiatives to improve the efficiency
of aid delivery, such as the Paris Declaration on Aid
Effectiveness, have not been taken up by water
sector donors as effectively as they have in
education and health, potentially leaving multiple
donors working on overlapping projects and
recipient governments without empowerment to act.
[55]

The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR,

2003) from the World Water Assessment Program
indicates that, in the next 20 years, the quantity of
water available to everyone is predicted to decrease
by 30%. 40% of the world's inhabitants currently
have insufficient fresh water for minimal hygiene.
More than 2.2 million people died in 2000 from
waterborne diseases (related to the consumption of
contaminated water) or drought. In 2004, the UK
charity WaterAid reported that a child dies every 15
seconds from easily preventable water-related
diseases; often this means lack of sewage disposal;
see toilet.
Organizations concerned with water protection
include International Water Association (IWA),
WaterAid, Water 1st, American Water Resources
Association. The International Water Management
Institute undertakes projects with the aim of using
effective water management to reduce poverty.
Water related conventions are United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships, United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea and Ramsar Convention. World

Day for Water takes place on 22 March and World

Ocean Day on 8 June.
Water used in the production of a good or service is
virtual water.
In culture
Religion
Main article: Water and religion
Water is considered a purifier in most religions.
Major faiths that incorporate ritual washing
(ablution) include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism,
Rastafari movement, Shinto, Taoism, Judaism, and
Wicca. Immersion (or aspersion or affusion) of a
person in water is a central sacrament of Christianity
(where it is called baptism); it is also a part of the
practice of other religions, including Judaism
(mikvah) and Sikhism (Amrit Sanskar). In addition, a
ritual bath in pure water is performed for the dead in
many religions including Judaism and Islam. In
Islam, the five daily prayers can be done in most
cases (see Tayammum) after completing washing
certain parts of the body using clean water (wudu).
In Shinto, water is used in almost all rituals to
cleanse a person or an area (e.g., in the ritual of
misogi). Water is mentioned numerous times in the

Bible, for example: "The earth was formed out of

water and by water" (NIV). In the Qur'an it is stated
that "Living things are made of water" and it is often
used to describe paradise.
Philosophy
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 was
considered cold and moist. In the theory of the four
bodily humors, water was associated with phlegm.
The classical element of Water was also one of the
five elements in traditional Chinese philosophy,
along with earth, fire, wood, and metal.
Water is also taken as a role model in some parts of
traditional and popular Asian philosophy. James
Legge's 1891 translation of the Dao De Jing states
"The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The
excellence of water appears in its benefiting all
things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the
contrary), the low place which all men dislike.
Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao" and
"There is nothing in the world more soft and weak
than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm
and strong there is nothing that can take precedence

of itfor there is nothing (so effectual) for which it

can be changed."[56]
Literature
Water is used in literature as a symbol of
purification. Examples include the critical
importance of a river in As I Lay Dying by William
Faulkner and the drowning of Ophelia in Hamlet.
Sherlock Holmes held that "From a drop of water, a
logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a
Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the
other."[57]
See also
Water portal
Sustainable development portal
Main article: List of water topics
The water (data page) is a collection of the
chemical and physical properties of water.
Water is described in many terms and contexts:

Liquid water and ice structures

according to state

o solid ice
o liquid water
o gaseous water vapor
o plasma
according to meteorology:
o hydrometeor
precipitation
precipitation according precipitation according
to movement
to state
vertical (falling)
liquid precipitation
precipitation
o rain
o rain
o freezing rain
o freezing rain
o drizzle
o drizzle
o freezing drizzle
o freezing drizzle
o dew
o snow
solid precipitation
o snow pellets
o snow
o snow grains
o snow pellets
o ice pellets
o snow grains
o frozen rain
o ice pellets
o hail
o frozen rain

o ice crystals
horizontal (seated)
precipitation
o dew
o hoarfrost
o atmospheric
icing
o glaze ice

o hail
o ice crystals
o hoarfrost
o atmospheric
icing
o glaze ice
mixed precipitation
o in temperatures
around 0 C

o levitating particles
clouds
fog
mist
o ascending particles (drifted by wind)
spindrift
stirred snow
according to occurrence
o groundwater
o meltwater
o meteoric water

o connate water
o fresh water
o surface water
o mineral water contains many minerals
o brackish water
o dead water strange phenomenon which can
occur when a layer of fresh or brackish
water rests on top of denser salt water,
without the two layers mixing. It is
dangerous for ship traveling.
o seawater
o brine
according to uses
o tap water
o bottled water
o drinking water or potable water useful for
everyday drinking, without fouling, it
contains balanced minerals that are not
harmful to health (see below)
o purified water, laboratory-grade, analyticalgrade or reagent-grade water water which
has been highly purified for specific uses in
science or engineering. Often broadly

classified as Type I, Type II, or Type III, this

category of water includes, but is not limited
to, the following:
distilled water
double distilled water
deionized water
Reverse osmosis plant Water
according to other features
o soft water contains fewer minerals
o hard water from underground, contains
more minerals
o distilled water, double distilled water,
deionized water contains no minerals
o water of crystallization water
incorporated into crystalline structures
o hydrates water bound into other chemical
substances
o heavy water made from heavy atoms of
hydrogen deuterium. It is in nature in
normal water in very low concentration. It
was used in construction of first nuclear
reactors.
o tritiated water

 according to microbiology
o drinking water
o wastewater
o stormwater or surface water
according to religion
o holy water
Other topics
Dihydrogen monoxide hoax
Water Pasteurization Indicator
Water intoxication
Water pinch analysis
Mpemba effect
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45. ^ Food and Nutrition Board, National
Academy of Sciences. Recommended Dietary
Allowances.. National Research Council, Reprint
and Circular Series, No. 122. 1945. pp. 318.
46. ^ Dietary Reference Intakes: Water,
Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate, Food
and Nutrition Board
47. ^ "Water: How much should you drink
every day? ". Mayoclinic.com.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU002
83. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
48. ^ "Conquering Chemistry" 4th Ed.
Published 2008
49. ^ Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins, Charles
William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna
Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D. Wright
(1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 013-981176-1. OCLC 32308337.

50. ^ Unesco (2006). Water: a shared

responsibility. Berghahn Books. p. 125.
ISBN 1845451775. http://books.google.com/?
id=1cV8tziHZ5sC&pg=PA125.
51. ^ a b c d e Vaclavik, Vickie A. and Christian,
Elizabeth W (2007). Essentials of Food Science.
Springer. ISBN 0387699392.
http://books.google.com/?
id=iCCsvwZrguUC&printsec=frontcover.
52. ^ a b DeMan, John M (1999). Principles of
Food Chemistry. Springer. ISBN 083421234X.
http://books.google.com/?
id=kDYJ7a1HbD0C&pg=PA434.
53. ^ The Millennium Development Goals
Report, United Nations, 2008
54. ^ UNESCO, (2006), Water, a shared
responsibility. The United Nations World Water
Development Report 2.
55. ^ Katharina Welle, Barbara Evans,
Josephine Tucker and Alan Nicol (2008) Is water
lagging behind on Aid Effectiveness? [1]
56. ^ "Internet Sacred Text Archive Home".
Sacred-texts.com. http://www.sacredtexts.com/tao/taote.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-25.

57. ^ Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet,

Chapter 2, "The Science of Deduction"
Further reading
OA Jones, JN Lester and N Voulvoulis,
Pharmaceuticals: a threat to drinking water?
TRENDS in Biotechnology 23(4): 163, 2005
Franks, F (Ed), Water, A comprehensive treatise,
Plenum Press, New York, 19721982
PH Gleick and associates, The World's Water:
The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources.
Island Press, Washington, D.C. (published every
two years, beginning in 1998.)
Marks, William E., The Holy Order of Water:
Healing Earth's Waters and Ourselves. Bell Pond
Books ( a div. of Steiner Books), Great
Barrington, MA, November 2001 [ISBN 088010-483-X]
Debenedetti, P. G., and Stanley, H. E.;
"Supercooled and Glassy Water", Physics Today
56 (6), p. 4046 (2003). Downloadable PDF (1.9
MB)
External links
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Properties of water
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"H2O" and "HOH" redirect here. For other uses,
see H2O (disambiguation) and HOH
(disambiguation).
This article is about the physical and chemical
properties of pure water. For general discussion
and its distribution and importance in life,
see Water. For other uses, see Water
(disambiguation).
Water (H2O)

IUPAC name[hide]

Water
Oxidane
Other names[hide]
Hydrogen oxide
Dihydrogen monoxide
Hydrogen monoxide
Hydrogen hydroxide
Identifiers
CAS
number

7732-18-5

PubChem

962

ChemSpider 937
UNII

059QF0KO0R

ChEBI

CHEBI:15377

ChEMBL

CHEMBL1098
659

RTECS

ZC0110000

number
Jmol-3D
images

Image 1
SMILES

[show]
InChI
[show]
Properties
Molecular
formula

H2O

Molar mass 18.01528(33) g

/mol
Appearance white solid or
almost
colorless,
transparent,
with a slight
hint of blue,
crystalline solid

or liquid [1]
Density

1000 kg/m3,
liquid (4 C)
(62.4 lb/cu. ft)
917 kg/m3,
solid

Melting
point

0 C,
32 F(273.15 K
)[2]

Boiling
point

99.98 C,
211.97 F
(373.13 K)[2]

Acidity (pKa
)
Basicity (pK
b)
Refractive
index (nD)
Viscosity

15.74
~3536
15.74
1.3330

0.001 Pas at
20 C
Structure

Crystal
Hexagonal
structure
Molecular Bent
shape
Dipole
1.85 D
moment
Hazards
Main hazard Drowning (see
s
alsoDihydrogen
monoxide
hoax)
NFPA 704
0
0
0
Related compounds
Other cation Hydrogen
s
sulfide
Hydrogen
selenide
Hydrogen
telluride

Hydrogen
polonide
Hydrogen
peroxide
Related solv acetone
ents
methanol
Related
water vapor
compounds ice
heavy water
(what is this?) (verify)
Except where noted
otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard
state (at 25 C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references
Water (H2O) is the most abundant compound
on Earth's surface, covering about 70%. In
nature, it exists in liquid, solid, and gaseous
states. It is in dynamic equilibrium between
the liquid andgas states at standard
temperature and pressure. At room
temperature, it is a tasteless andodorless liquid,
nearly colorless with a hint of blue. Many
substances dissolve in water and it is

commonly referred to as the universal solvent.

Because of this, water in nature and in use is
rarely pure and some of its properties may vary
slightly from those of the pure substance.
However, there are also many compounds that
are essentially, if not completely, insoluble in
water. Water is the only common substance
found naturally in all three common states of
matter and it is essential for all life on Earth.
[3]
Water usually makes up 55% to 78% of the
human body.[4]
Contents
[hide]

1 Forms of water
2 Physics and chemistry
o
2.1 Water, ice and vapor

2.1.1 Heat capacity and heats of

vaporization and fusion

2.1.2 Density of water and ice

2.1.3 Density of saltwater and ice

2.1.4 Miscibility and condensation

2.1.5 Vapor pressure

o
o

o
o
o
o
o
zone

2.1.6 Compressibility
2.1.7 Triple point
2.2 Electrical properties
2.2.1 Electrical conductivity
2.2.2 Electrolysis
2.3 Static dielectric constant
2.4 Polarity and hydrogen bonding
2.4.1 Cohesion and adhesion
2.4.2 Surface tension
2.4.3 Capillary action
2.4.4 Water as a solvent
2.5 Water in acid-base reactions
2.5.1 Ligand chemistry
2.5.2 Organic chemistry
2.5.3 Acidity in nature
2.6 Water in redox reactions
2.7 Geochemistry
2.8 Transparency
2.9 Heavy water and isotopologues
2.10 Liquid crystal state in the exclusion

3 History
4 Systematic naming
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
[edit]Forms of water
Like many substances, water can take
numerous forms that are broadly categorized
by phase of matter. The liquid phase is the most
common among water's phases (within the
Earth's atmosphere and surface) and is the
form that is generally denoted by the word
"water." The solid phase of water is known
as ice and commonly takes the structure of
hard, amalgamatedcrystals, such as ice cubes,
or loosely accumulated granular crystals,
like snow. For a list of the many different
crystalline and amorphous forms of solid H2O,
see the article ice. Thegaseous phase of water
is known as water vapor (or steam), and is
characterized by water assuming the
configuration of a transparent cloud. (Note that
the visible steam and clouds are, in fact, water

in the liquid form as minute droplets suspended

in the air.) The fourth state of water, that of
a supercritical fluid, is much less common than
the other three and only rarely occurs in nature,
in extremely uninhabitable conditions. When
water achieves a specific critical
temperature and a specific critical
pressure (647K and 22.064MPa), liquid and
gas phase merge to one homogeneous fluid
phase, with properties of both gas and liquid.
One example of naturally occurring supercritical
water is found in the hottest parts of deep
water hydrothermal vents, in which water is
heated to the critical temperature by
scalding volcanic plumes and achieves the
critical pressure because of the crushing weight
of the ocean at the extreme depths at which the
vents are located. Additionally, anywhere there
is volcanic activity below a depth of 2.25 km
(1.4 miles) can be expected to have water in
the supercritical phase.[5]
Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water is the
current international standard for
water isotopes. Naturally occurring water is
almost completely composed of the neutron-

less hydrogen isotopeprotium. Only

155 ppm include deuterium (2H or D), a
hydrogen isotope with one neutron, and less
than 20 parts
per quintillion include tritium (3H or T), which
has two.
Heavy water is water with a higher-thanaverage deuterium content, up to 100%.
Chemically, it is similar but not identical to
normal water. This is because the nucleus of
deuterium is twice as heavy as protium, and
this causes noticeable differences in bonding
energies. Because water molecules exchange
hydrogen atoms with one another, hydrogen
deuterium oxide (DOH) is much more common
in low-purity heavy water than pure dideuterium
monoxide (D2O). Humans are generally
unaware of taste differences,[6] but sometimes
report a burning sensation[7] or sweet flavor.
[8]
Rats, however, are able to avoid heavy water
by smell.[9] Toxic to many animals,[9] heavy
water is used in thenuclear reactor industry
to moderate (slow down) neutrons. Light water
reactors are also common, where "light" simply
designates normal water.

Light water more specifically refers to

deuterium-depleted water (DDW), water in
which the deuterium content has been reduced
below the standard 155ppm level. Light water
has been found to be beneficial for improving
cancer survival rates in mice[10] and humans
undergoing chemotherapy.[11]
[edit]Physics and chemistry
See also: Water chemistry analysis
Water is the chemical substance with chemical
formula H2O: one molecule of water has two
hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a
singleoxygen atom.[12] Water is a tasteless,
odorless liquid at ambient temperature and
pressure, and appears colorless in small
quantities, although it has its own intrinsic very
light blue hue. Ice also appears colorless, and
water vapor (steam) is essentially invisible as a
gas.[1]
Water is primarily a liquid under standard
conditions, which is not predicted from its
relationship to other analogous hydrides of
the oxygen family in the periodic table, which
are gases such as hydrogen sulfide. The

elements surrounding oxygen in the periodic

table, nitrogen,fluorine, phosphorus, sulfur and
chlorine, all combine with hydrogen to produce
gases under standard conditions. The reason
that water forms a liquid is that oxygen is
more electronegative than all of these elements
with the exception of fluorine. Oxygen attracts
electrons much more strongly than hydrogen,
resulting in a net positive charge on the
hydrogen atoms, and a net negative charge on
the oxygen atom. The presence of a charge on
each of these atoms gives each water molecule
a net dipole moment. Electrical attraction
between water molecules due to this dipole
pulls individual molecules closer together,
making it more difficult to separate the
molecules and therefore raising the boiling
point. This attraction is known as hydrogen
bonding. The molecules of water are constantly
moving in relation to each other, and the
hydrogen bonds are continually breaking and
reforming at timescales faster than 200
femtoseconds.[13] However, this bond is
sufficiently strong to create many of the peculiar
properties of water, such as the those that

make it integral to life. Water can be described

as a polarliquid that slightly dissociates
disproportionately into the hydronium ion (H3O+
(aq)) and an associated hydroxide ion (OH
(aq)).
2 H2O (l) H3O+ (aq) + OH (aq)
The dissociation constant for this
dissociation is commonly
symbolized as Kw and has a
value of about 1014 at 25 C; see
"Water (data page)" and "Selfionization of water" for more
information.
[edit]Water, ice and vapor
[edit]Heat capacity and heats
of vaporization and fusion
Temperature (C)

Heat of vaporization
Hv (kJ/mol)[14]

45.054

25

43.99

40

43.35

60

42.482

80

41.585

100

40.657

120

39.684

140

38.643

160

37.518

180

36.304

200

34.962

220

33.468

240

31.809

260

29.93

280

27.795

300

25.3

320

22.297

340

18.502

360

12.966

374

2.066

Main article: Enthalpy of

vaporization
Water has the second
highest specific heat capacity of
all known substances,
afterammonia,[citation needed] as well
as a high heat of
vaporization (40.65 kJ/mol or
2257 kJ/kg), 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.
According to Josh Willis,
of NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, the oceans absorb
one thousand times more heat
than the atmosphere (air) and
are holding 80 to 90% of global
warming heat.[15]
The specific enthalpy of fusion of
water is 333.55 kJ/kg at 0 C. Of
common substances, only that of
ammonia is higher. This property
confers resistance to melting on
the ice of glaciers anddrift ice.
Before and since the advent of
mechanical refrigeration, ice was
and still is in common use for
retarding food spoilage.
Temperature (C)

Constant-pressure heat
capacity

Cp (J/(gK) at 100 kPa)[16]

0

4.2176

10

4.1921

20

4.1818

30

4.1784

40

4.1785

50

4.1806

60

4.1843

70

4.1895

80

4.1963

90

4.205

100

4.2159

Note that the specific heat

capacity of ice at 10 C is about
2.05 J/(gK) and that the heat
capacity of steam at 100 C
is about 2.080J/(gK).
[edit]Density of water and ice

Density of liquid water

Temp (C)
Density (kg/m3)[17][18]
+100
958.4
+80
971.8
+60
983.2
+40
992.2
+30
995.6502
+25
997.0479
+22
997.7735
+20
998.2071
+15
999.1026
+10
999.7026
+4
999.9720
0
999.8395
10
998.117
20
993.547
30
983.854
The values below 0 C refer to supercooled water.
The density of water is approximately one gram
per cubic centimeter. More precisely, it is
dependent on its temperature, but the relation is
not linear and is not even monotonic (see righthand table). When cooled from room
temperature liquid water becomes increasingly

dense, just like other substances. But at

approximately 4 C, pure water reaches
itsmaximum density. As it is cooled further, it
expands to become less dense. This unusual
negative thermal expansion is attributed to
strong, orientation-dependent, intermolecular
interactions and is also observed in
molten silica.[19]
The solid form of most
substances is denser than the
liquid phase; thus, a block of
most solids will sink in the liquid.
However, a block of ice floats in
liquid water because ice
is lessdense. Upon freezing, the
density of water decreases by
about 9%.[20] The reason for this
is the 'cooling' of intermolecular
vibrations allowing the molecules
to form steady hydrogen bonds
with their neighbors and thereby
gradually locking into positions
reminiscent of
thehexagonal packing achieved
upon freezing to ice Ih. Whereas

the hydrogen bonds are shorter

in the crystal than in the liquid,
this locking effect reduces the
average coordination number of
molecules as the liquid
approaches nucleation. Other
substances that expand on
freezing
aresilicon, gallium, germanium, a
ntimony, bismuth, plutonium and
other compounds that form
spacious crystal lattices with
tetrahedral coordination.
Only ordinary hexagonal ice is
less dense than the liquid. Under
increasing pressure, ice
undergoes a number of
transitions to other allotropic
forms with higher density than
liquid water, such as high density
amorphous ice (HDA) and very
high density amorphous
ice(VHDA).
Water also expands significantly
as the temperature increases. Its

density decreases by 4% from its

highest value when approaching
its boiling point.
The melting point of ice is 0 C
(32 F, 273 K) at standard
pressure, however, pure liquid
water can be supercooled well
below that temperature without
freezing if the liquid is not
mechanically disturbed. It can
remain in a fluid state down to its
homogeneous nucleationpoint of
approximately 231 K (42 C).
[21]
The melting point of ordinary
hexagonal ice falls slightly under
moderately high pressures, but
as ice transforms into
its allotropes (see crystalline
states of ice) above 209.9 MPa
(2,072 atm), the melting point
increases markedly with
pressure, i.e., reaching 355
K (82 C) at 2.216 GPa (21,870
atm) (triple point of Ice VII[22]).

A significant increase of pressure

is required to lower the melting
point of ordinary ice the
pressure exerted by an ice
skater on the ice only reduces
the melting point by
approximately 0.09 C (0.16 F).
[citation needed]

These properties of water have

important consequences in its
role in the ecosystem of Earth.
Water at a temperature of 4 C
will always accumulate at the
bottom of fresh water lakes,
irrespective of the temperature in
the atmosphere. Since water and
ice are poor conductors of
heat[23] (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 warming weather, chunks of
ice float, rather than sink to the

bottom where they might melt

extremely slowly. These
phenomena thus may help to
preserve aquatic life.
[edit]Density of saltwater and
ice

WOA surface density.

The density of water is
dependent on the dissolved salt
content as well as the
temperature of the water. Ice still
floats in the oceans, otherwise
they would freeze from the
bottom up. However, the salt
content of oceans lowers the
freezing point by about 2 C (see

following paragraph for

explanation) and lowers the
temperature of the density
maximum of water to the
freezing point. This is why, in
ocean water, the downward
convection of colder water
is notblocked by an expansion of
water as it becomes colder near
the freezing point. The oceans'
cold water near the freezing
point continues to sink. For this
reason, any creature attempting
to survive at the bottom of such
cold water as the Arctic
Oceangenerally lives in water
that is 4 C colder than the
temperature at the bottom of
frozen-over fresh water lakes
and rivers in the winter.
In cold countries, when the
temperature of the ocean
reaches 4C, the layers of water
near the top in contact with cold
air continue to lose heat energy

and their temperature falls below

4C. On cooling below 4C,
these layers do not sink but may
rise up as water has a maximum
density at 4C. (Refer: Polarity
and hydrogen bonding) Due to
this, the layer of water at 4C
remains at the bottom and above
this layers of water 3C, 2C,
1C and 0C are formed. Since
ice is a poor conductor of heat, it
does not allow heat energy from
the water beneath the layer of
ice which prevents the water
freezing. Thus, aquatic creatures
survive in such places.[citation needed]
As the surface of salt water
begins to freeze (at 1.9C for
normal salinity seawater, 3.5%)
the ice that forms is essentially
salt free with a density
approximately equal to that of
freshwater ice. This ice floats on
the surface and the salt that is
"frozen out" adds to

the salinity and density of the

seawater just below it, in a
process known
as brine rejection. This denser
saltwater sinks by convection
and the replacing seawater is
subject to the same process.
This provides essentially
freshwater ice at 1.9C on the
surface. The increased density of
the seawater beneath the
forming ice causes it to sink
towards the bottom. On a large
scale, the process of brine
rejection and sinking cold salty
water results in ocean currents
forming to transport such water
away from the Poles, leading to
a global system of currents
called thethermohaline
circulation. One potential
consequence of global
warming is that the loss of Arctic
and Antarctic ice could result in
the loss of these currents as

well, which could have

unforeseeable consequences on
near and distant climates.
[edit]Miscibility and
condensation

Red line shows saturation

Main article: Humidity
Water is miscible with many
liquids, for example ethanol in all
proportions, forming a single
homogeneous liquid. On the
other hand, water and

most oils are immiscible usually

forming layers according to
increasing density from the top.
As a gas, water vapor is
completely miscible with air. On
the other hand the maximum
water vapor pressure that is
thermodynamically stable with
the liquid (or solid) at a given
temperature is relatively low
compared with total atmospheric
pressure. For example, if the
vapor partial pressure[24] is 2% of
atmospheric pressure and the air
is cooled from 25 C, starting at
about 22 C water will start to
condense, defining the dew
point, and creating fog or dew.
The reverse process accounts
for the fog burning off in the
morning. If the humidity is
increased at room temperature,
for example, by running a hot
shower or a bath, and the
temperature stays about the

same, the vapor soon reaches

the pressure for phase change,
and then condenses out as
minute water droplets, commonly
referred to as steam.
A gas in this context is referred
to as saturated or 100% relative
humidity, when the vapor
pressure of water in the air is at
the equilibrium with vapor
pressure due to (liquid) water;
water (or ice, if cool enough) will
fail to lose mass through
evaporation when exposed to
saturated air. Because the
amount of water vapor in air is
small, relative humidity, the ratio
of the partial pressure due to the
water vapor to the saturated
partial vapor pressure, is much
more useful. Water vapor
pressure above 100% relative
humidity is called supersaturated and can occur if air is

rapidly cooled, for example, by

rising suddenly in an updraft.[25]
[edit]Vapor pressure

Vapor pressure diagrams of

water
Main article: Vapor pressure of
water
Pressure[26]

Temperature
C

Pa

atm

torr in Hg

psi

273 32

611 0.00603 4.58 0.180 0.0886

278 41

872 0.00861 6.54 0.257 0.1265

10

283 50 1,228 0.01212 9.21 0.363 0.1781

12

285 54 1,403 0.01385 10.52 0.414 0.2034

14

287 57 1,599 0.01578 11.99 0.472 0.2318

16

289 61 1,817 0.01793 13.63 0.537 0.2636

17

290 63 1,937 0.01912 14.53 0.572 0.2810

18

291 64 2,064 0.02037 15.48 0.609 0.2993

19

292 66 2,197 0.02168 16.48 0.649 0.3187

20

293 68 2,338 0.02307 17.54 0.691 0.3392

21

294 70 2,486 0.02453 18.65 0.734 0.3606

22

295 72 2,644 0.02609 19.83 0.781 0.3834

23

296 73 2,809 0.02772 21.07 0.830 0.4074

24

297 75 2,984 0.02945 22.38 0.881 0.4328

25

298 77 3,168 0.03127 23.76 0.935 0.4594

[edit]Compressibility
The compressibility of water is a
function of pressure and
temperature. At 0 C, at the limit
of zero pressure, the
compressibility is5.11010 Pa1.
[27]
At the zero-pressure limit, the
compressibility reaches a
minimum
of 4.41010 Pa1 around 45 C
before increasing again with
increasing temperature. As the
pressure is increased, the
compressibility decreases,
being 3.91010 Pa1 at 0 C and
100 MPa.
The bulk modulus of water is
2.2 GPa.[28] The low
compressibility of non-gases,
and of water in particular, leads
to their often being assumed as

incompressible. The low

compressibility of water means
that even in the deep oceans at
4 km depth, where pressures are
40 MPa, there is only a 1.8%
decrease in volume.[28]
[edit]Triple point
The various triple points of water[29]
Phases in stable
equilibrium

Pressure

Temperature

liquid water, ice Ih,

and water vapor

611.73 Pa

273.16 K (0.01
C)

liquid water, ice Ih,

and ice III

209.9
MPa

251 K (22 C)

liquid water, ice III,

and ice V

350.1
MPa

17.0 C

liquid water, ice V,

and ice VI

632.4
MPa

0.16 C

ice Ih, Ice II, and ice

III

213 MPa 35 C

ice II, ice III, and ice V 344 MPa 24 C

ice II, ice V, and ice VI 626 MPa 70 C
The temperature and pressure at
which solid, liquid, and gaseous
water coexist in equilibrium is
called the triple point of water.
This point is used to define the
units of temperature (the kelvin,
the SI unit of thermodynamic
temperature and, indirectly, the
degree Celsius and even the
degree Fahrenheit).
As a consequence, water's triple
point temperature is a prescribed
value rather than a measured
quantity.

water phase diagram: Y-axis =

Pressure in pascals (10n), Xaxis = temperature in kelvins, S
= solid, L = liquid, V = vapor,
CP = critical point, TP = triple
point of water
The triple point is at a
temperature of 273.16 K (0.01
C) by convention, and at a
pressure of 611.73 Pa. This
pressure is quite low,
about 1166 of the normal sea level
barometric pressure of 101,325
Pa. The atmospheric surface
pressure on planet Mars is

remarkably close to the triple

point pressure, and the zeroelevation or "sea level" of Mars is
defined by the height at which
the atmospheric pressure
corresponds to the triple point of
water.
Although it is commonly named
as "the triple point of water", the
stable combination of liquid
water, ice I, and water vapor is
but one of several triple points
on the phase diagram of water.
Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon
Tammann in Gttingen produced
data on several other triple
points in the early 20th century.
Kamb and others documented
further triple points in the 1960s.
[29][30][31]

[edit]Electrical properties
[edit]Electrical conductivity
Pure water containing no ions is
an excellent insulator, but not

even "deionized" water is

completely free of ions. Water
undergoesauto-ionization in the
liquid state. Further, because
water is such a good solvent, it
almost always has
some solute dissolved in it, most
frequently a salt. If water has
even a tiny amount of such an
impurity, then it can conduct
electricity readily, as impurities
such as salt separate into
free ions in aqueous solution by
which an electric current can
flow.[citation needed]
It is known that the theoretical
maximum electrical resistivity for
water is approximately 182 km
at 25 C. This figure agrees well
with what is typically seen
on reverse osmosis, ultra-filtered
and deionized ultra-pure water
systems used, for instance, in
semiconductor manufacturing
plants. A salt or acid contaminant

level exceeding even 100 parts

per trillion (ppt) in ultra-pure
water begins to noticeably lower
its resistivity level by up to
several kOhmm (or hundreds
of nanosiemens per meter).[citation
needed]

The low electrical conductivity of

water increases significantly
upon solvation of a small amount
of ionic material, such
as hydrogen chlorideor any salt.
Any electrical conductivity
observable in water is the result
of ions of mineral salts
and carbon dioxide dissolved in
it. Carbon dioxide
formscarbonate ions in water.
Water self-ionizes, where two
water molecules form
one hydroxide anion and
one hydronium cation, but not
enough to carry enough electric
current to do any work or harm
for most operations. In pure

water, sensitive equipment can

detect a very slightelectrical
conductivity of 0.055 S/cm at
25 C. Water can also
be electrolyzed into oxygen and
hydrogen gases but in the
absence of dissolved ions this is
a very slow process, as very little
current is conducted. While
electrons are the primary charge
carriers in water (and metals), in
ice the primary charge carriers
are protons (see proton
conductor)..[32]
[edit]Electrolysis
Main article: Electrolysis of water
Water can be split into its
constituent elements, hydrogen
and oxygen, by passing an
electric current through it. This
process is calledelectrolysis.
Water molecules naturally
dissociate into H+ and OH ions,
which are attracted toward

the cathode and anode,

respectively. At the cathode,
two H+ ions pick up electrons
and form H2 gas. At the anode,
four OH ions combine and
release O2 gas, molecular water,
and four electrons. The gases
produced bubble to the surface,
where they can be collected. The
standard potential of the water
electrolysis cell is 1.23 V at 25
C.
[edit]Static dielectric constant
dielectric constant of water
temper
10
ature 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
0
/C

87 83. 80. 76. 73. 69. 66. 63. 60. 58 55.

.9 95 18 58 18 88 76 78 93 .2 58
[edit]Polarity and hydrogen
bonding

Model of hydrogen
bonds between molecules of
water
An important feature of water is
its polar nature. The water
molecule forms an angle, with
hydrogen atoms at the tips and
oxygen at the vertex. Since
oxygen has a
higher electronegativitythan
hydrogen, the side of the
molecule with the oxygen atom
has a partial negative charge. An
object with such a charge
difference is called
a dipole meaning two poles. The
oxygen end is partially negative

and the hydrogen end is partially

positive, because of this the
direction of thedipole
moment points towards the
oxygen. The charge differences
cause water molecules to be
attracted to each other (the
relatively positive areas being
attracted to the relatively
negative areas) and to other
polar molecules. This attraction
contributes to hydrogen bonding,
and explains many of the
properties of water, such as
solvent action.[33]
A water molecule can form a
maximum of four hydrogen
bonds because it can accept two
and donate two hydrogen atoms.
Other molecules like hydrogen
fluoride, ammonia, methanol for
m hydrogen bonds but they do
not show anomalous behavior
of thermodynamic, kinetic or
structural properties like those

observed in water. The answer to

the apparent difference between
water and other hydrogen
bonding liquids lies in the fact
that apart from water none of the
hydrogen bonding molecules can
form four hydrogen bonds either
due to an inability to
donate/accept hydrogens or due
to steric effects in bulky residues.
In water local tetrahedral order
due to the four hydrogen bonds
gives rise to an open structure
and a 3-dimensional bonding
network, resulting in the
anomalous decrease of density
when cooled below 4 C.
Although hydrogen bonding is a
relatively weak attraction
compared to the covalent bonds
within the water molecule itself, it
is responsible for a number of
water's physical properties. One
such property is its relatively
high melting and boiling

point temperatures; more energy

is required to break the hydrogen
bonds between molecules. The
similar compound hydrogen
sulfide (H2S), which has much
weaker hydrogen bonding, is a
gas at room temperature even
though it has twice the molecular
mass of water. The extra
bonding between water
molecules also gives liquid water
a large specific heat capacity.
This high heat capacity makes
water a good heat storage
medium (coolant) and heat
shield.
[edit]Cohesion and adhesion

Dew drops adhering to a spider

web

Water molecules stay close to

each other (cohesion), due to the
collective action of hydrogen
bonds between water molecules.
These hydrogen bonds are
constantly breaking, with new
bonds being formed with
different water molecules; but at
any given time in a sample of
liquid water, a large portion of
the molecules are held together
by such bonds.[34]
Water also has
high adhesion properties
because of its polar nature. On
extremely clean/smoothglass the
water may form a thin film
because the molecular forces
between glass and water
molecules (adhesive forces) are
stronger than the cohesive
forces. In biological cells
andorganelles, water is in
contact with membrane and
protein surfaces that

are hydrophilic; that is, surfaces

that have a strong attraction to
water. Irving Langmuir observed
a strong repulsive force between
hydrophilic surfaces. To
dehydrate hydrophilic surfaces
to remove the strongly held
layers of water of hydration
requires doing substantial work
against these forces, called
hydration forces. These forces
are very large but decrease
rapidly over a nanometer or less.
They are important in biology,
particularly when cells are
dehydrated by exposure to dry
atmospheres or to extracellular
freezing.[35]
[edit]Surface tension
Main article: Surface tension

This paper clip is under the

water level, which has risen
gently and smoothly. Surface
tension prevents the clip from
submerging and the water from
overflowing the glass edges.

Temperature dependence of
the surface tension of pure
water
Water has a high surface
tension of 72.8 mN/m at room
temperature, caused by the
strong cohesion between water
molecules, the highest of the
non-metallic liquids. This can be
seen when small quantities of
water are placed onto a sorptionfree (non-adsorbent and non-

absorbent) surface, such

as polyethylene or Teflon, and
the water stays together as
drops. Just as significantly, air
trapped in surface disturbances
forms bubbles, which sometimes
last long enough to transfer gas
molecules to the water.[citation needed]
Another surface tension effect
is capillary waves, which are the
surface ripples that form around
the impacts of drops on water
surfaces, and sometimes occur
with strong subsurface currents
flowing to the water surface. The
apparent elasticity caused by
surface tension drives the
waves.
[edit]Capillary action
Main article: Capillary action
Due to an interplay of the forces
of adhesion and surface tension,
water exhibits capillary
action whereby water rises into a

narrow tube against the force

of gravity. Water adheres to the
inside wall of the tube and
surface tension tends to
straighten the surface causing a
surface rise and more water is
pulled up through cohesion. The
process continues as the water
flows up the tube until there is
enough water such that gravity
balances the adhesive force.
Surface tension and capillary
action are important in biology.
For example, when water is
carried through xylem up stems
in plants, the strong
intermolecular attractions
(cohesion) hold the water
column together and adhesive
properties maintain the water
attachment to the xylem and
prevent tension rupture caused
by transpiration pull.
[edit]Water as a solvent

Main article: aqueous solution

Presence of colloidalcalcium
carbonate from high
concentrations of
dissolvedlime turns the water
ofHavasu Falls turquoise.
Water is also a good solvent due
to its polarity. Substances that
will mix well and dissolve in
water (e.g. salts) are known
as hydrophilic ("water-loving")
substances, while those that do
not mix well with water (e.g. fats
and oils), are known
as hydrophobic ("water-fearing")
substances. The ability of a
substance to dissolve in water is

determined by whether or not the

substance can match or better
the strong attractive forces that
water molecules generate
between other water molecules.
If a substance has properties
that do not allow it to overcome
these strong intermolecular
forces, the molecules are
"pushed out" from the water, and
do not dissolve. Contrary to the
common misconception, water
and hydrophobic substances do
not "repel", and the hydration of
a hydrophobic surface is
energetically, but not entropically,
favorable.
When an ionic or polar
compound enters water, it is
surrounded by water molecules
(Hydration). The relatively small
size of water molecules typically
allows many water molecules to
surround one molecule of solute.
The partially negative dipole

ends of the water are attracted to

positively charged components
of the solute, and vice versa for
the positive dipole ends.
In general, ionic and polar
substances such
as acids, alcohols, and salts are
relatively soluble in water, and
non-polar substances such as
fats and oils are not. Non-polar
molecules stay together in water
because it is energetically more
favorable for the water molecules
to hydrogen bond to each other
than to engage in van der Waals
interactions with non-polar
molecules.
An example of an ionic solute
is table salt; the sodium chloride,
NaCl, separates
into Na+ cations and Clanions,
each being surrounded by water
molecules. The ions are then
easily transported away from
their crystalline lattice into

solution. An example of a
nonionic solute is table sugar.
The water dipoles make
hydrogen bonds with the polar
regions of the sugar molecule
(OH groups) and allow it to be
carried away into solution.
[edit]Water in acid-base
reactions
Chemically, water is amphoteric:
it can act as either an acid or
a base in chemical reactions.
According to the BrnstedLowry definition, an acid is
defined as a species which
donates a proton (a H+ ion) in a
reaction, and a base as one
which receives a proton. When
reacting with a stronger acid,
water acts as a base; when
reacting with a stronger base, it
acts as an acid. For instance,
water receives an H+ ion from
HCl when hydrochloric acid is
formed:

HCl (acid) + H2O (base)

H3O+ + Cl
In the reaction
with ammonia, NH3, water
donates a H+ ion, and is thus
acting as an acid:
NH3 (base) + H2O (acid) NH+
4 + OH
Because the oxygen atom
in water has two lone pairs,
water often acts as a Lewis
base, or electron pair donor,
in reactions with Lewis
acids, although it can also
react with Lewis bases,
forming hydrogen bonds
between the electron pair
donors and the hydrogen
atoms of water. HSAB
theory describes water as
both a weak hard acid and
a weak hard base, meaning
that it reacts preferentially
with other hard species:

H+ (Lewis acid) + H2O (Lewis

base) H3O+
Fe3+ (Lewis acid) + H2O (Lewis
base) Fe(H2O)3+
6
Cl (Lewis base) + H2O (Lewis
acid) Cl(H2O)
6
When a salt of a
weak acid or of a
weak base is
dissolved in water,
water can
partially hydrolyze th
e salt, producing the
corresponding base
or acid, which gives
aqueous solutions
of soap and baking
soda their basic pH:
Na2CO3 + H2O NaOH
+ NaHCO3
[edit]Ligand
chemistry

Water's Lewis
base character
makes it a
common ligand in
transition
metal complexes,
examples of
which range from
solvated ions,
such
asFe(H2O)3+
6, to perrhenic
acid, which
contains two
water molecules
coordinated to
a rhenium atom,
to various
solid hydrates,
such
asCoCl26H2O.
Water is typically
a monodentate lig
and, it forms only

one bond with the

central atom.
[edit]Organic
chemistry
As a hard base,
water reacts
readily with
organic carbocatio
ns, for example
in hydration
reaction, in which
a hydroxyl group
(OH) and an
acidic proton are
added to the two
carbon atoms
bonded together
in the carboncarbon double
bond, resulting in
an alcohol. When
addition of water
to an organic
molecule cleaves
the molecule in

two, hydrolysis is
said to occur.
Notable examples
of hydrolysis
are saponification
of fats
and digestion of
proteins
and polysaccharid
es. Water can
also be a leaving
group in SN2
substitution and E
2
elimination reactio
ns, the latter is
then known
as dehydration
reaction.
[edit]Acidity in
nature
Pure water has
the concentration
of hydroxide ions
(OH) equal to

that of
the hydronium (H3
O+) or hydrogen
(H+) ions, which
gives pH of 7 at
298 K. In practice,
pure water is very
difficult to
produce. Water
left exposed to air
for any length of
time will
dissolve carbon
dioxide, forming a
dilute solution
of carbonic acid,
with a limiting pH
of about 5.7. As
cloud droplets
form in the
atmosphere and
as raindrops fall
through the air
minor amounts
of CO2 are

absorbed and
thus most rain is
slightly acidic. If
high amounts
of nitrogen and su
lfur oxides are
present in the air,
they too will
dissolve into the
cloud and rain
drops
producing acid
rain.
[edit]Water in
redox reactions
Water contains
hydrogen
in oxidation
state +1 and
oxygen in
oxidation state 2.
Because of that,
water oxidizes
chemicals
with reduction

potential below
the potential
of H+/H2, such
as hydrides, alkali
and alkaline
earth metals
(except
for beryllium), etc.
Some other
reactive metals,
such
as aluminum, are
oxidized by water
as well, but their
oxides are not
soluble, and the
reaction stops
because
of passivation.
Note, however,
that rusting of iron
is a reaction
between iron and
oxygen, dissolved
in water, not

between iron and

water.
2 Na + 2 H2O 2 NaOH + H2
Water can be
oxidized itself,
emitting oxygen
gas, but very
few oxidants
react with water
even if their
reduction
potential is
greater than the
potential
of O2/O2.
Almost all such
reactions
require
a catalyst[36]
4 AgF2 + 2 H2O 4 AgF + 4
HF + O2
[edit]Geoche
mistry

Action of
water on
rock over
long periods
of time
typically
leads
to weatherin
g and water
erosion,
physical
processes
that convert
solid rocks
and minerals
into soil and
sediment,
but under
some
conditions
chemical
reactions
with water
occur as
well,

resulting
in metasoma
tism orminer
al hydration,
a type of
chemical
alteration of
a rock which
produces cla
y minerals in
nature and
also occurs
when Portlan
d
cementharde
ns.
Water ice
can
form clathrat
e
compounds,
known
as clathrate
hydrates,
with a variety

of small
molecules
that can be
embedded in
its spacious
crystal
lattice. The
most notable
of these
is methane
clathrate,
4CH423H2O,
naturally
found in
large
quantities on
the ocean
floor.
[edit]Transp
arency
Main
article: Water
absorption

Water is
relatively
transparent
to visible
light, near
ultraviolet lig
ht, and farred light, but
it absorbs
most ultraviol
et
light, infrared
light,
andmicrowav
es.
Most photore
ceptors and
photosyntheti
c
pigments utili
ze the
portion of the
light
spectrum
that is

transmitted
well through
water.Microw
ave
ovens take
advantage of
water's
opacity to
microwave
radiation to
heat the
water inside
of foods. The
very weak
onset of
absorption in
the red end
of the visible
spectrum
lends water
its intrinsic
blue hue
(see Color of
water).

[edit]Heavy
water and
isotopologu
es
Several isoto
pes of both
hydrogen
and oxygen
exist, giving
rise to
several
known isotop
ologues of
water.
Hydrogen
occurs
naturally in
three
isotopes. The
most
common (1H)
accounting
for more than
99.98% of
hydrogen in

water,
consists of
only a single
proton in its
nucleus. A
second,
stable
isotope, deut
erium (chemi
cal
symbol D or 2
H), has an
additional
neutron.
Deuterium
oxide,D2O, is
also known
as heavy
water becaus
e of its
higher
density. It is
used
in nuclear
reactors as

a neutron
moderator.
The third
isotope,tritiu
m, has 1
proton and 2
neutrons,
and
is radioactive
, decaying
with a halflife of 4500
days. T2O exi
sts in nature
only in
minute
quantities,
being
produced
primarily via
cosmic rayinduced
nuclear
reactions in
the

atmosphere.
Water with
one
deuterium
atom HDO o
ccurs
naturally in
ordinary
water in low
concentratio
ns (~0.03%)
and D2O in
far lower
amounts
(0.000003%)
.
The most
notable
physical
differences
between H2O
and D2O,
other than
the simple
difference in

specific
mass,
involve
properties
that are
affected by
hydrogen
bonding,
such as
freezing and
boiling, and
other kinetic
effects. The
difference in
boiling points
allows the
isotopologue
s to be
separated.
Consumption
of pure
isolated D2O
may affect
biochemical
processes -

ingestion of
large
amounts
impairs
kidney and
central
nervous
system
function.
Small
quantities
can be
consumed
without any
ill-effects,
and even
very large
amounts of
heavy water
must be
consumed
for any
toxicity to
become
apparent.

Oxygen also
has three
stable
isotopes,
with 16O pres
ent in
99.76%, 17O i
n 0.04%,
and 18O in
0.2% of
water
molecules.[37]
[edit]Liquid
crystal state
in the
exclusion
zone
Near hydrop
hilic surfaces
, water exists
in a liquid
crystal state.
[38][39]
This
liquid crystal
state has the

following
properties:[40]
the water
molecules
are
constrained
in
movement
(as shown
by nuclear
magnetic
resonance
imagery)
it is more
stable (as
shown by
infrared
radiation
imagery)
it has a
negative
charge (as
shown by a
test of its

electric
potential)
it absorbs
at 270 nm
(as shown
by light
absorption
imagery)
it is more
viscous
than liquid
water (as
shown by
falling ball
viscometry)
the
molecules
are aligned
(as shown
by
polarizing
microscopy
)

Gerald
Pollack
speculated
that this
liquid crystal
zone
remained
relatively
unexplored
recently,
despite
extensive
writing on
this topic up
through
1949,
because of
the polywater
and water
memory deb
acles.[40]
[edit]History
The first
decompositio

n of water
into
hydrogen
and oxygen,
by electrolysi
s, was done
in 1800 by
an English
chemist Willi
am
Nicholson. In
1805, Josep
h Louis GayLussac and
Alexander
von
Humboldt sh
owed that
water is
composed of
two parts
hydrogen
and one part
oxygen.

Gilbert
Newton
Lewis isolate
d the first
sample of
pure heavy
water in
1933.
The
properties of
water have
historically
been used to
define
various temp
erature
scales.
Notably,
the Kelvin, C
elsius, Ranki
ne,
andFahrenhe
it scales
were, or
currently are,

defined by
the freezing
and boiling
points of
water. The
less common
scales
of Delisle, Ne
wton,Raum
ur and Rme
r were
defined
similarly.
The triple
point of
water is a
more
commonly
used
standard
point today.
[41]

[edit]System
atic naming

The
accepted IUP
AC name of
water
is oxidane[42]
or
simply water,
or its
equivalent in
different
languages,
although
there are
other
systematic
names which
can be used
to describe
the molecule.
[43]

The simplest
systematic
name of
water
is hydrogen

oxide. This is
analogous to
related
compounds
such
as hydrogen
peroxide, hy
drogen
sulfide,
and deuteriu
m
oxide (heavy
water).
Another
systematic
name, oxida
ne, is
accepted by
IUPAC as a
parent name
for the
systematic
naming of
oxygenbased substit

uent groups,
[44]
although
even these
commonly
have other
recommende
d names. For
example, the
namehydrox
yl is
recommende
d
over oxidanyl
for the OH
group. The
name oxane
is explicitly
mentioned
by the IUPAC
as being
unsuitable
for this
purpose,
since it is
already the

name of a
cyclic ether
also known
as tetrahydro
pyran.
The
polarized
form of the
water
molecule,
H+OH, is
also called
hydron
hydroxide by
IUPAC
nomenclatur
e.[45]
Dihydrogen
monoxide (D
HMO) is a
rarely used
name of
water. This
term has
been used in

various
hoaxes that
call for this
"lethal
chemical" to
be banned,
such as in
the dihydrog
en monoxide
hoax. Other
systematic
names for
water
include hydr
oxic
acid, hydroxy
lic acid,
andhydrogen
hydroxide.
Both acid
and alkali
names exist
for water
because it
is amphoteric

(able to react
both as an
acid or an
alkali). None
of these
exotic names
are used
widely.
[edit]See
also
Wikimedia
Commons
has media
related
to: Water
molecule
Water portal
Double
distilled
water
Flexible
SPC water
model

 Hydrodyna
mics
Optical
properties
of water
and ice
Superheate
d water
Vienna
Standard
Mean
Ocean
Water
Viscosity of
Water
Water
(data page)
Water
absorption
ofelectrom
agnetic
radiation
Water
cluster

 Water
dimer
Water
model
[edit]Referen
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2. ^ a b Vi
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273.1500
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9(10) C,
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Other
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Conducti
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35. ^ Phys
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Use of
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02-05.
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and
solid; but
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erald
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ure
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chemical
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45. ^ "hydr
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[edit]External
links
Release on
the IAPWS
Industrial
Formulatio
n 1997 for
the
Thermodyn
amic
Properties
of Water
and
Steam (fast

computatio
n speed)
Release on
the IAPWS
Formulatio
n 1995 for
the
Thermodyn
amic
Properties
of Ordinary
Water
Substance
for General
and
Scientific
Use (simpl
er
formulation
)
Online
calculator
using the
IAPWS
Supplemen

tary
Release on
Properties
of Liquid
Water at
0.1 MPa,
September
2008
Sigma Xi
The
Scientific
Research
Society,
Year of
Water 2008
Stockholm
Internation
al Water
Institute (SI
WI)
Chaplin,
Martin. "Wa
ter
Structure
and

Science". L
ondon
South Bank
University.
Retrieved
2009-0707.
Calculation
of vapor
pressure, li
quid
density, dy
namic
liquid
viscosity, s
urface
tension of
water
Water
Density
Calculator
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my

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