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August 31, 2021

Physicists Have Discovered a Quantum Property That Makes Water Weird for the First Time


There's a storm brewing in your teacup that we can hardly comprehend. Water molecules are whirling around, reaching out to one another, grabbing hold and letting go in unusual ways that defy straightforward analysis.

While scientists understand that hydrogen bonding plays a significant part in water's many strange and fascinating forms, the specifics of how it works have remained a mystery.

An multinational team of researchers developed a novel method for visualising the locations of particles in liquid water, capturing their blur with femtosecond precision to illustrate how hydrogen and oxygen jiggle among water molecules.

Their findings may not help us make a better cup of tea, but they go a long way toward fleshing out quantum modelling of hydrogen bonding, perhaps improving theories explaining why water, which is so important to life as we know it, has such remarkable qualities.

"This has definitely opened up a new window to investigate water," says Xijie Wang, a physicist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory of the US Department of Energy.

"Now that we can see the hydrogen bonds moving, we'd like to connect them to the bigger picture, which could throw light on how water contributed to the origin and survival of life on Earth, as well as inform the development of renewable energy methods."

A single molecule of water is a three-way custody war for electrons between two hydrogen atoms and a single oxygen atom when studied in isolation.

Oxygen receives significantly more electron love than its two weenie sidekicks since it has far more protons. This gives each proton a little more time without an electron than usual. Although the atoms aren't all positively charged, the result is a V-shaped molecule with a gentle slope of slightly positive tips and a slightly negative centre.

When enough energy is applied to a group of these molecules, the slight variances in charge will arrange themselves in the desired pattern, with same charges pushing apart and unlike charges merging together.

While this may appear to be a straightforward operation, the engine that drives it is anything but. Electrons move around according to numerous quantum principles, therefore the closer we get to them, the less certain we may be about their qualities.

Physicists had previously depended on ultrafast spectroscopy to learn how electrons travel in water's chaotic tug-of-war, collecting photons of light and analysing their signature to map electron positions.

Regrettably, this leaves out an important aspect of the scene: the atoms themselves. They stretch and wobble in response to the quantum forces changing around them, far from being passive onlookers.

"The low mass of hydrogen atoms emphasises their quantum wave-like activity," explains Kelly Gaffney of SLAC.

The team employed a Megaelectronvolt Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Instrument, or MeV-UED, to acquire insight into the atoms' configurations. This gadget at SLAC's National Accelerator Laboratory showers water with electrons, which ricochet from molecules and transmit important information about the atoms' configurations.

 

""

(Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

Above: An animation depicting the reaction of a water molecule to laser light. When an excited water molecule vibrates, its hydrogen atoms (white) pull oxygen atoms (red) from nearby water molecules closer before pushing them away, enlarging the distance between them.

With enough images, a high-resolution image of hydrogen jitter as the molecules bend and flex around them might be built, demonstrating how surrounding molecules drag oxygen towards them before forcefully flinging it back.

"This is the first study to show that the response of the hydrogen bond network to an energy impulse is critically dependent on the quantum mechanical nature of how the hydrogen atoms are spaced out, which has long been thought to be responsible for the unique properties of water and its hydrogen bond network," Gaffney says.

Researchers may now use the technique to investigate the tumultuous waltz of water molecules as pressures increase and temperatures fall, monitoring how it responds to life-building organic solutes or produces fascinating new phases under extreme conditions now that the tool has been proven to work in principle.

Never before had a storm appeared to be so lovely.

 

This study was published in the journal Nature.


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July 19, 2019
Almost everyone uses a water heater in day to day life. But how many of us have the exact idea of how it works and how the cold water is converted to hot water? What are the elements that are used for this process?

Introduction          

●      We use hot water for various purposes in daily life. For domestic purposes like cooking, bathing, etc. or for industrial purposes, we require hot water. Water heating is a thermodynamic process where a source of energy is used to heat water. The energy source may be natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, propane, oil, or electricity. Now-a-days solar energy is also used for the water heating process.

Parts of an Electric Water Heater

●      For the process of heating water we need three main components. They are:
○      Dip Tube (Inlet tube): Cold water enters the tank through this tube.
○      Outlet Tube: Hot water goes out of the tank through this tube.
○      Heating element: This element helps in heating the cold water.
●      There are various other parts used in a water heater.
○      Steel tank: This unit holds the water. The steel tank has to be constructed in such a way that it should be able to withstand the pressure of water inside the tank.
○      Temperature and Pressure relief valve: These valves are specially placed for safety purposes. This valve prevents the heater from explosion during abnormal conditions like high pressure and temperature. It can be mounted either at the top of the tank or at the sides of the tank.
○      Drain Valve: The drain valve is used for cleaning and maintenance.
○      Thermostat: A thermostat is generally used to control or maintain the temperature within the tank.
○      Anti Corrosion Anode Rod: This rod, also known as a sacrificial anode rod, aids in keeping the steel tank free from corrosion. This rod is made up of magnesium, which attracts corrosive elements and thus prevents the tank from corroding. This rod can be replaced when it becomes eroded.
●      Apart from this there is insulation provided that surrounds the steel tank of the heater.
●      The steel tank is internally coated with an epoxy or glass lining to prevent corrosion (in addition to anti corrosion rod).
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How Electric Water Heaters Work

●      Generally electric water heaters have two heating elements each wired with a thermostat. Both the heating elements do not function simultaneously. First the top heating element functions until the upper tank is hot and then the function is transferred to the bottom heating element, which has its own thermostat. Usually the water in the upper tank is heated from 120-140 F before the control is transferred to the lower heating element.
●      But some heaters have only one heating element which makes maintenance easier. In case of heating element failure it can be detected and replaced easily when there is only one heating element.
●      When the hot water is consumed, once again cold water enters through the dip tube and the process is repeated.
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Gas Water heater

●      The gas water heater is very similar in construction to the electric water heater. Here instead of electric supply, there is a gas supply. Instead of heating elements, there is a burner and burner control. The burner is used for heating the water in gas water heaters.
●      The working principle is based on law of convection. The cold water always remains at the bottom as it is denser than the hot water. As the water gets heated up it expands and moves to the top of the tank. If you look at the construction, we can see that the outlet tube is always smaller than the dip tube (inlet tube). This is to ensure that cold water is not supplied and only hot water is supplied through the tube. There is also a flue exhaust in gas type water heater which acts as heat exchanger as well as is used in exhausting the combustion gasses.
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September 17, 2015
Water- On- Earth-ocean
Hang onto your chair and prepare to have your mind blown.. New research reveals that a big portion of the Earth’s water is older than previously thought, and actually predates the age of the Sun. Moreover, the findings of the study suggest that water – and life – could exist on exoplanets throughout our galaxy and beyond.
That bottle of water sitting on your desk is really really old.. Actually, unfathomably ancient..
“This is an important step forward in our quest to find out if life exists on other planets,” said Professor Tim Harries of the University of Exeter, a member of the research team. “We know that water is vital for the evolution of life on Earth, but it was possible that the Earth’s water originated in the specific conditions of the early solar system, and that those circumstances might occur infrequently elsewhere.”
The findings increase the chances that water is present on other planets. The study confirms that the way in which our solar system was formed is not unique, which means that the same conditions – and therefore life – likely exists elsewhere in our galaxy. It is an amazing finding, given the fact that approximately 2,000exoplanets have been discovered so far, and no one knows how many of them may still be waiting to be discovered. According to the estimations, each star in the Milky Way galaxy hosts at least one planet.
It is worth noting that water is not an exclusive privilege of our planet. In fact, much evidence of it can be found throughout our solar system. In particular, water ice is present on comets and asteroids, as well as on other planets of our solar system and their moons, such as Jupiter’s Europa or Saturn’s Enceladus.
The prevailing theory in modern cosmology suggests that water came from the solar nebula, or the so-calledprotoplanetary disc, a cloud of dust and gas surrounding the forming Sun. Now, researchers from theUniversity of Michigan led by astronomy PhD student Ilse Cleeves decided to find out whether the water was already present in the sun’s protoplanetary disc, or whether it was formed with the birth of the Solar System.
“If water in the early Solar System was primarily inherited as ice from interstellar space, then it is likely that similar ices, along with the prebiotic organic matter that they contain, are abundant in most or all protoplanetary disks around forming stars,” said co-author of the study Conel Alexander of the Carnegie Institute.
“But if the early Solar System’s water was largely the result of local chemical processing during the Sun’s birth, then it is possible that the abundance of water varies considerably in forming planetary systems, which would obviously have implications for the potential for the emergence of life elsewhere.”
water-in-ocean-huge-amount
To figure out where the water was formed, the researchers simulated a model with two kinds of frozen water– regular hydrogen based water, and so-called “heavy water” containing the hydrogen isotope deuterium, which can be found on comets, meteorites and in the Earth’s oceans.
To recreate the conditions of the solar system’s formation, the scientists simulated a solar nebula without frozen heavy water, in order to find out whether the solar system was able to generate the ratios of deuterium from chemical reactions in the nebula. As a result, it was discovered that the system couldn’t produce heavy water; therefore it must have already existed in the sun’s protoplanetary disk.
According to the results of the simulation, 30 to 50 per cent of the water originated in the solar nebula, which means that it is nearly a million years older than our solar system.
“Our findings show that a significant fraction of our Solar System’s water, the most-fundamental ingredient to fostering life, is older than the Sun, which indicates that abundant, organic-rich interstellar ices should probably be found in all young planetary systems,” concluded Alexander.

The findings add to a plethora of evidence that water and therefore life is not exclusive to our planet.. a paradigm shift in the way we see the universe indeed.
source - http://www.learning-mind.com/
http://themindunleashed.org/
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September 07, 2014
Over-hydration
Over-hydration occurs when the body takes in more water than it excretes and its normal sodium level is diluted. This can result indigestive problems, behavioral changes, brain damage, seizures, or coma.

According to Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine physician Dr. James Winger, the recent deaths of two high school football players illustrated the dangers of Overhydration, which was rare but deadly.
Over-hydration by athletes was called exercise-associated hyponatremia. It occurs when athletes drink even when they are not thirsty. Drinking too much water and sports drinks during exercise could overwhelm the body's ability to remove water. The sodium content of blood would be diluted to abnormally low levels. Cells absorb excess water, which can cause swelling, most dangerously in the brain.
Hypothermia could cause muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, seizures, unconsciousness, and, in rare cases, death.
Georgia football player Zyrees Oliver reportedly drank 2 gallons of water and 2 gallons of a sports drink. He collapsed at home after football practice, and died later at a hospital. In Mississippi, Walker Wilbank was taken to the hospital during the second half of a game after vomiting and complaining of a leg cramp. He had a seizure in the emergency room and later died. A doctor confirmed he had exercise-associated hypothermia.
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