PolitiCook.net

Phases of Matter IX: The Wonder of Water 2

Crossposted at Dailykos.com

Hydrogen bonds are not very strong, but they are common. Looking it from an energetic standpoint, covalent bonds (the pure sharing of electrons, like in diatomic oxygen, for example), then ionic bonds, like in salt, are stronger. But there are lots of hydrogen bonds, and numbers have power. The only other that is so diffuse, and thus so powerful, are metallic bonds. I have covered all of those in previous diaries.

A hydrogen bond forms when a hydrogen atom (the smallest and lightest) is bonded with either nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine. From a zero point approximation, a hydrogen bond is a strong dipole-dipole bond, but they are much more important and quite different.

Read more »

Phases of Matter VIII - The Wonder of Water 1

Crossposted at Dailykos.com

None of us should be alive. We are only because of water. Water. Everyone knows about it, everyone uses it, but few understand it. Every schoolchild knows that water is H20, but few scientists realize the ramifications of that simple formula.

Water has a molecular weight of 18 atomic mass units (amu, the mass of a proton or neutron, roughly) since the common isotope of oxygen has a a mass of 16 amu, and that of the most common type of hydrogen has a mass of one amu.

Water looks sort of like Mickey Mouse, in that the two hydrogen atoms make an angle through the H-O-H bond of about 104.45 degrees.

Water, at 18 amu, should be a gas. Nothing with that molecular weight is a solid except for lithium, and it is a metal, and metallic bonds are special. I wrote about that earlier in this series.

All of the atmospheric gases weight more, on a molecular basis, than water. Ammonia, water’s close cousin, is a gas at STP (standard temperature and pressure, one atmosphere at 20 degrees C). Both ammonia and water share a special property, but water does it better.

The secret is the hydrogen bond. It turns out, due to both electrostatic and quantum mechanical considerations, that hydrogen (the lightest and smallest element) when bonded to nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine (the most electron hungry elements in the second row of the periodic table) is “special”.

We should all be dead, and water should not exist. But the hydrogen bond changes everything. More in future, if any interest. I will hang around a bit to answer comments and stave off flames. Warmest regards, Doc.

Water News May 08 Roundup

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation. Now you too can figure out your water footprint using the calculator at waterfootprint.org. Additionally, they have a gallery of commonly consumed products and how much water it takes to produce them and case studies of water footprints of specific countries like China and Israel.

Remember, water conservation is essential.

Read more »

What is water, anyway?

We all know that water is H2O, two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom. On a molar basis, water is two thirds hydrogen. On a mass basis, it is only 16/18ths hydrogen, since oxygen weighs 16 to hydrogen only one. But that is not the wonder of water.

Most compounds that have a molecular weight of 18 are gases. Nitrogen is 28, and boils at 77 kelvins, cold enough to freeze a banana into a hammer. Pretty much the same with oxygen, and argon. Carbon dioxide, with a molecular weight of 44, liquefies at higher temperatures. Read more »

Water: the Incoming Apocalypse

Scouring the “internets” for water news I came across this dire warning:

Water: the Incoming Apocalypse.

Oil, of course, still dominates world economics and politics. But some day in the not so distant future, with peak oil, alternative fuels and other clean technologies, combined with the rising costs of extracting oil, will diminish petroleum’s influence once and for all. Water will be the next oil. One hundred years ago, if someone had told you that water will be sold in stores, under “premium” brand names for as much as $3 for a liter, you would have said that this person is insane.

Well, insanity has caught up to reality. Water privatization is upon us, and unless we act, fast, you will be paying through the nose for every liter of water. Read more »

Water News

A recent Gallup Poll showed that Americans perceived polluted drinking water as more of a threat than climate change, with 53% saying that they worried “a great deal” about it and 37% expressing the same level of concern over global warming. Gallup noted that pollution of drinking water has been a major concern since 1990.

“These poll results demonstrate that the public is out in front of policymakers,

commented CEO Stephen E. Sandherr of the Associated General Contractors of America.

“They recognize that our deteriorating water delivery systems are in need of repair.”

WATER is among the five primordial elements considered to be vital for any type of life or vegetation on this planet. Great civilizations of the world grew and developed on the banks of big watercourses. May it be the grand Nile or the majestic Indus or other lakes and springs, water has been so important that ancient inhabitants choose it as their first preference to settle nearby. Therapeutic value of both food and water mattered to mankind right from the early days.

Read more »

The Other Blue Revolution we Should be Having

The world needs to start another revolution, IMO, to preserve, conserve and manage freshwater supplies in the face of huge growing demands from population growth, irrigated agriculture, unregulated industries (in most parts of the world) and sheer wastage: a Blue Revolution. Although this concept is not new, it should be given serious thought.

Just as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture in the 1960s, a Blue Revolution ought to galvanize this earth into action, and everyone, from those in government to the multinationals and from the self-employed to the workforce and those at home should play a role as there is no more water on earth now than there was 2,000 years ago, when the population was less than 3% of its current size. Glib? It’s worse than that as per-capita water consumption is rising twice as fast as the world’s population.

Read more »

Climate Change: Bad News for Beer Drinkers

Climate change will force the beer lovers around the world especially in Australia & New Zealand (right now) to shell out extra money to buy the drink, which could taste different, a scientist warned on Tuesday. Climate change could cause a drop in beer production within 25 years, worldwide.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger said climate change could see a decline of malting barley production in parts of New Zealand, Australia and spreading to the rest of the world.

Sen. Inhofe (R.OK) and countless other doubters will tell you that it’s a Giant Hoax, doncha know? Bleh, I hope they find flies in their small beer!

Searching the web for articles related to this, I am astounded that not a single site has mentioned water, odd since the water content in any beer is more than 90% and consequently plays a major role in the final product.

Read more »