Nature of the Chemical Bond III (NCB3) : Lattice Water

A lattice is a structure that is used to support other structures. Typically the term is used for the gridwork that roses climb or that holds glassware in position in a chemistry laboratory. The structural lattice we are most comfortable with is the earth - which serves as a lattice by planting post holes to hold a fence, or planting a foundation to hold a building. Thinking about water as a lattice solvent probably never crossed your imagination until dr. lenny proposed it now.

Lattice water is arranged to store small amounts of energy. That is small amounts compared to electrical power generation needed for human industrial maintenance. As we get smaller in size and scale of the picture - the relative energy stored in water gets bigger. And when we amplify this effect by all the water molecules on earth - water contains substantial amounts of stored energy. But how does it store energy in a tiny molecule consisting of only three atoms; two hydrogen, one oxygen; H2O?

It doesn't. Our molecular picture of water is not cogent. This may be a fundamental error in scientific thinking, or it may be a deliberate attempt by the people pointed at by conspiracy theorists to deceive the entire population. Lemmings can believe what they want, but dr. lenny believes what he finds that doesn't conflict with what he already knows. Lattice water does not conflict with known chemistry, but it expands the concept beyond how we normally think of chemistry. We look at reactions, chemical transformations that occur by switching molecular bonding partners in hard static bonds. What about all the soft squishy non-static bonds governed and mediated by the attacheents of water to proteins and enzymes?

Individual water molecules are likely as diverse as people are - in fact aren't people mostly made up of water molecules? But the water molecules that are attached structurally to the proteins and enzymes that constitute our bodies behave differently from the water molecules that are sitting in the glass of cold water that i keep by the computer. And these in turn behave differently from the similar solvent water molecules in my coffee cup, that have been extracted through a fresh grind of dark roast african coffee bean. My system now has water that spent recent history on the other side of the world. Imagine what that does for my global memory?

The colder the water, the more energy it stores in the liquid phase, down to a limit at the triple point, slightly higher that the ice/water interface. Water density is maximized at 4.2 degrees F. Water we going to do about all this? At this point, experiment with forms of water. Rainwater seems to have some properties that enhance growth of plants and microwave water can kill healthy plants dead in less than a week. Energy is related to chaos and order in the solvent, which is highly temperature dependent. But first we have to address the misconception that water is a simple molecule - it is not! The team of three, one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms is really a team of five, and it is in constant flux as long as it remains free with other water molecules - the dance can be interpreted by art students, through the mechanism of flowform. Symmetry holds the key and there is more than meets the eye.

What is symmetry? Try to place your left hand onto your right hand so that it directly overlaps. Your will note that you have mirror image hands that cannot be superimposed on each other. When this happens at a molecular level, the atom involved in the choice of symmetry is said to be chiral. (Kai - ral). We generally think of carbon atoms this way, but i would propose that water is four co-ordinate and chiral around oxygen based on charge dislocation from anything that happens to be in the aqueous solution. Imagine a glass of pure water.

If there are no ions at all, there is no charge delocalization and hence an entropy governed random system with no firm oxygen-hydrogen pairings. But at very low concentration of metal ion (below Ksp), the net dipole aligns the oxygen of the nearest water molecules to the individual metal ion. This makes the oxygen chiral to the charge and other water molecules in the solvent must align their array such that they all face the same direction as the initial water near the ion. These forces get weaker with distance, but at low water temperature, the energy barriers toward alignment fall off and water forms stable arrays that can store energy, temporarily for immediate use.

Every bound water molecule has different chemical propeties from unbound solution based water molecules. The dielectric constant is inverted and water helps mediate charge flow, rather than resist it when bound to a protein or enzyme molecule within a cell system. This would represent the other extreme - where the water has no control over its shape, orientation or individuality - it is playing a role as a cog in a structure that is of vital importance to a greater being. This subservance is enacted at the price of freedon - it cannot be a free unbound water molecule again until the cell owner dies, decays and frees the water to another life.

Like the lattice water in the structure of the coffee beans that set in my rapidly cooling cup, these water atoms that shared common experience as coffee are relocated into my body system, where most of them will hop a ride into my urine and get back to the water system where they start another journey. My contention is that the water molecules remember who, where and in which lattice they have been. Enjoy the thought and the day. dr. lenny.

Green words are scientific terms used in science context - if you would like the definition spelled howdt, please ask. If you want to learn science methods - stay tuned.

NCB2