Of the all substances in the natural world, water or H2O as it is known on the periodic table, is the strangest. Why is that? Surely we need and use water all the time without giving it a second thought. This is very true but there are a few facts about water that will surprise you.
- It is lighter when it bonds together. Put simply, Ice floats. It shouldn’t do because when the water freezes it increases in mass and size. Everything else that does that becomes heavier.
- Water has a “skin”.There is a thin layer of molecules that are trying to stick together. It’s a bit like the process of Electroless Nickel Plating which gives metal a skin.
- In its atom form it looks a bit like Mickey Mouse. The hydrogen atoms are the ears and the oxygen atom is the head. These atoms are both positively and negatively charged. This means that they try to stick to each other forming a bond. We call this surface tension.
- In the middle of a glass of water the molecules are going crazy. They are being pulled in all directions but the ones at the top and bottom are more “solid” this is how you can overfill a glass of water to a brimful.