Water

Readers may ask why write about water? Well, isn't water 70% of the world and also about 70% (65% to be exact). An evolutionary theory also states that humans evolved from water. However, according to the Bible, GOD created man from the EARTH. In Genesis 3:19 says "...Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."

You are reading this post about water. (The creation of man, is true btw.) Water. All of us were always told when we were young to drink 7 cups or approximately 2 liters of water everyday. We use water to bathe, wash dishes, do the laundry, and making coffee. Some also just waste water by leaving the tape on while washing the car and when brushing teeth. There are also religious rituals which uses water. I don't look at it as wasting as it will return to the earth sooner or later.

So the usage of water is plentiful but the knowledge OF water is few. The whole world knows that water in chemistry sense is H2O - 2 hydrogen 1 oxygen. What else? Is that all about water? No it is not. Actually, the oxygen atom holds two more pairs of lone electrons. The valence electron for H atom is 1 while for oxygen is 6. 2+6=8 electrons. 2 bonds holding the hydrogen atomS to oxygen consists of 4 electron. 8-4=4 more electrons remaining. Since hydrogen can only take 2 electrons where do this extra 4 electrons go to? It will be added to the central atom oxygen. Hence 2 pairs of lone electrons. There is a special physical property relating to this particular bond formation of water.

The basic physical properties of water are: boiling point is at 100°C and the freezing point is 0°C both at standard pressure. But what if it was not at standard pressure? Take for example if one is to boil water in the mountains while mountain climbing, what will the boiling temperature be? [NOTE: Boiling point is reached when the vapour pressure of the solvent is in equilibrium with the atmospheric pressure]. So, on the highlands, pressure is lower. At lower pressure the boiling point of water will be reached faster than when boiling water at the base of the mountain. On the other hand at high pressure, water will turn to ice at a temperature lower than 0°C.

Ice is solid everyone would agree. When a solid is drop into water, for instance a rock, it WILL sink. Why doesn't it happen for ice? Of course the answer will be ice is less dense than water. So why is it less dense? Remember about the bondings of water mentioned above, because each molecule is hydrogen - bonded to four neighbours in a 3D crystal. This crystal formed is spacious as water molecule do not solidify to form compact solid like rocks. In an equal volume of water, ice has fewer molecules. Have you also notice that when a pond during winter only freezes on the surface, allowing aquatic flora and fauna to live, another special property of water is involved. Water reaches maximum density at 4°C.

The knowledge ABOUT water is now known, but some are still neglecting the knowledge of how to save water. Yes, the water cycle is always happening, the concern is the supply of clean water. Clean water do not come naturally. It has to be processed. The cleanest, rather the purest water we can find is rain water, but do we drink rain water? NO. It contains carbon dioxide as it dissolves in rain drops while passing through the atmosphere. Some water sources contains mineral deadly when drank. It has to be cleaned by distillation, which is quite costly. So, save CLEAN water, as it is essential for our welfare. Be grateful for what has been given.