At the Well
Why We Understand So Little About Water Water is central to life — so central that Albert Szent-Györgyi, the father of modern biochemistry, once opined: “Life is water dancing to the tune of solids.” Without that dance, there could be no life. You might find it hard to believe, but few scientists
Scientists shun water for a second reason. Water
study water. Most scientists presume, as do lay people,
seems to have acquired a rather mystical character.
that everything about this common substance must
Ancient religious gurus felt certain that water was
already be known — so where’s the scientific
endowed with exotic healing powers. Think of “holy
challenge? Better to pursue some trendy area like
water.” This mystical tinge makes water research a
molecular biology or nanoscience rather than plunge
potentially risky business: an exotic finding may be
into boring water.
viewed as the work of the devil, rather than as the work of science. Better to avoid the risk of condemnation.
Snippets from The Fourth Phase of Water
By Dr. Gerald Pollack Microscopic Images Courtesy of Water by Georg Schroecker Images from upcoming book Water Worlds: The Hidden Magnified
by Georg Schroecker
Given that centrality, you might assume that we in the 21st century know pretty much all there is to know about water. All answers should be in by now. Yet the previous chapter confirmed otherwise, showing how little we really know about this familiar
The Mystery
and pervasive substance. Consider what Philip Ball has to say on that issue. Ball is one of the premier science writers of our time, author of H2O: A Biography of Water, and a long-time science consultant for the journal Nature. Ball puts it this way:
“No one really understands water. It’s embarrassing to admit it, but the stuff that covers two-thirds of our planet is still a mystery. Worse, the more we look, the more the problems accumulate: new techniques probing deeper into the molecular architecture of liquid water are throwing up more puzzles.”
The Puzzle
The Social Behavior of H2O Biologists, for example, often regard water as the vast molecular sea that bathes the important molecules of life. We do not picture water molecules as seriously interacting with anything. But water molecules must interact. Think of the simple water droplet: at least some of the gazillions of water molecules that make up the droplet must stick to others, for without cohesion there could be no droplet. Those cohesive interactions cannot be static.
Energy Drives Ordering The separated charge provides the
crystallinity. When heated to melting,
energy that drives the ordered crystal
metals become more amorphous. The
formation, here by the like-likes- like
question arises whether the radiant input
attraction. Thus, the energetics powering
used for melting provides the energy
the formation of salt and sugar crystals
needed to fuel recrystallization, as in salt
may operate much like the energetics
and sugar crystals. If so, then the same
involved in the formation of EZ and ice.
thermodynamic principle could remain
Energy drives ordering.
applicable:
This same principle may also hold for
ordering requires energy.
metals. Common metals exhibit atomic
Ice formation does require energy; it exploits the potential energy of charge separation which is delivered as the positive proton charges combine with the negative EZ to build crystalline ice. Hence the energetics of iceformation match the energetics of EZ buildup. Both processes require energy.
Batteries Made From Water
The skies above unleash a flash of lightning, discharging hundreds of thousands of volts of raw energy to the earth’s surface. Those lightning strikes occur so frequently around the world that, according to atmospheric scientists, the earth’s surface cannot dissipate the accumulating negative charge, leaving it electrically negative. Standing on the ground, your nose is about 200 volts more positive than your toes. While lightning and its electrical consequences are not the subjects of this chapter, charge definitely is. Like clouds, EZs contain concentrated electrical charges. Those charges carry potential energy, just like the thundercloud’s charges. And the consequences can be equally impressive. - Chapter 5
Image by Georg Schroecker
by Georg Schroecker
Charged
Consider biology. Charged entities such as membranes, proteins, and DNA all interface with water; exclusion zones should appear in abundance. Those EZs bear charge, which means they carry electrical potential energy. Since nature rarely discards available potential energy, EZ charge may be used to drive diverse cellular processes ranging from chemical reactions all the way to fluid flows. Opportunities abound.
by Georg Schroecker
How does the EZ construction process begin?
Atomic Arrangements
Hydrophilic surfaces generally contain oxygen atoms, and one possibility is that those surface-oxygen atoms form a template. If enough of those atoms’ positions correspond to the positions of oxygen atoms on the EZ honeycomb, then the surface itself could be thought of as the first EZ plane. Additional planes would then easily stack from that template plane. Of course, no material surface provides a perfect match. Surfaces differ as to atomic arrangements and may have difference negatively charged atoms instead of oxygen. Some surfaces might therefore prove less adept at nucleating EZ layers; they would be considered less hydrophilic.
Mineral Water Fern: a very small amount of stone salt, dissolved in water creates a picture like a fern? Â has water a memory? a fern is a very old plant on this world appr. 400 mill. years! Georg Schroecker
Spa Water
Pyramid Water
Crystals also exclude particles as they grow. The prospect that the EZ might be some kind of crystal-like material intrigued us.
by Georg Schroecker
Zones
Something unpredicted is happening that drives microspheres from certain material surfaces. Although our artifactseeking experiments consumed a good deal of our energy, they brought an unexpected clue. Those meter-long exclusion zones struck us as implying some kind of crystal-like structure, for crystals easily grow to such lengths: think of an icicle.
Black hole - water from high mountain springs creates some times a pictures with a "black hole" surrounded with a blue color - is this a indication for charged water?
Breathing Pipes of a Dewdrop ....some  dewdrops are surrounded by a very small capillary tube....magnification 500x.
1. I place the water samples on an object slide of a microscope using a dropping pipette. 2. The water evaporates after a while. 3. The residues can be observed under the microscope.
Microscopic Images Courtesy of Water by Georg Schroecker Images from upcoming book Water Worlds: The Hidden Magnified
Georg Schroecker http://www.wasser-lebt.at/