Let
us arbitrarily walk the water phase diagram from the cold side to the hot. We will start at -10oC for a start
– the C refers to degrees on the Celcius scale, measured in centigrade
units. This scale is different from the
Fahrenheit scale that we use in the United States and the absolute temperature
scale measured in Kelvin units. The
three scales measure the exact same phenomenon, but have different range and
utility. Centigrade is a base ten metric
scale that has set points at 0oC for the freezing point of water and
100oC for the boiling point.
This corresponds to 32oF and 212oF on the Fahrenheit
scale – with an algebraic formula of F
= 9/5C + 32 for the conversion.
This places arbitrary measurement systems in conflict – a rite of
passage in science.
The
Kelvin scale is an offset of the Celsius scale to set the absolute zero at -273oC,
such that the temperature measurement fit the same thermodynamic parameters as
used in the calculations of entropy and enthalpy – giving absolute temperature
rather than being relative to our earthly temperature frame. Absolute temperature 0 K is where all
molecular motion theoretically stops.
At
absolute zero – the mass is extrapolated to a zero point and all packing is
tight, close and regular. There is no
vibration, no movement relative to other molecules – the lattice is continuous
forever. As we climb by adding heat, we
see the atoms wiggle, but there is not enough force to move them – the hydrogen
atoms each bridging two oxygen atoms, the tetrahedral oxygen surrounded by four
hydrogen atoms. One pyramid up, another
down, about a central plane. The
location of the molecule in space is fixed by the arrangement of each molecule
to other molecules also held fixed – the bonding is extremely regular.
Back
to water, now as a molecular solid at minus ten degrees C. The bonding here is still very regular and
tightly packed. If the water droplets
have a confirmed border, the alignment can be seen as a stacking process from
the interior, moving out from being fixed at a point of nucleation, a physical
center. The first water molecule holds
rigid as the molecular motion is constrained, and the molecules closer to this
center are held tight – the ones further off are led less tight. The molecules are attracted to each other by
polar forces between the negative oxygen end of one water to the positive
hydrogen end of the next water – as the temperature has climbed – the molecules
begin to vibrate. They cannot move out
of the lattice – no translations or rotations are allowed.
The
vibration does not have enough energy contained at this point to break any of
the hydrogen bonds. The actual chemical
bonds of water do not break until we use enough
energy to get hydrolysis of the water – the chemical breaking down of
water to the component gases hydrogen and oxygen. This happens at an electrode in a contained
system – when in nature it can take the form of creating ozone via lightning
bolt. Hydrogen bonds hold water
molecules together and are not like atomic bonds between elements.
Things that are dissolved in water disrupt the lattice of molecules and
cause freezing point depression and boiling point elevation. The pressure is also a factor – but for
solids and liquids, the volume is consistent and pressure is not a factor. There are several different ice phases that
have different unit cell packing, but the ice we know in the form of cubes has
a regular structure similar to our current description. The surface starts to melt as we approach
zero degrees C (32 degrees F), due to the bending and stretching of the individual
water atoms. These modes can be controlled
by frequency to vibrate in tandem and these characteristic frequencies tend to
be harmonics of the bond lengths and angles.
Liquid
water forms as the ice melts. The
temperature remains at zero C until all of the ice has melted to water. The ice is less dense than the water at zero
C and floats on the top of the liquid water surface. This is odd for a liquid, but make the fish
very happy, as they can reside under the ice in a lake or pond and live perfectly
well. If ice froze in a solid mass from
bottom to top, then we would have frozen fish in history and empty oceans
today. Water has a minimum volume at 4oC,
as the molecules slowly rotate their conformation when not fixed directly to
the next water's atoms.
In
the rising temperature liquid the water molecules can traverse past each other
using rotational and translational energy provided by the energy as measured at
higher temperature. The water on the top
surface exchanges molecules with the air – each temperature has a dynamic
equilibrium value where the evaporation off the surface is equal to the landing
rate on the surface – when there is more energy present, the temperature goes
up and there is always excitement of chaos caused by increased molecular
motion.
Water
has three individual modes of vibration – the bond angle bending, the
symmetrical stretch of the two O-H bonds and the asymmetric stretch of the same
bonds. These modes have an infrared
frequency vibration that is shifted when water is bound to a metal atom or an
organic molecule that is not water. This
phenomena is concentration dependent and can be washed out in dilute
solution. As concentration increases,
the direction of water is mitigated by what the water contains and the
vibrations begin to take on characteristic frequencies of the substances
dissolved in the water, rather than the spectrum of the water itself.
In
liquid water, we tend to get translational and rotational phenomena along with
or vibrational energy. Hot water spins
the atoms around relative to each other and passing molecules cause friction,
which generates more heat as heat is added.
The temperature rise is consistent with energy input – one gram of
liquid water increases one degree Celcius of temperature in the heat
measurement called a calorie. This is
one thousandth of a Calorie – the unit that we measure food energy content as a
function of weight. People spend too
much time watching their caloric intake rather than exercising and using the
energy of their food content. Drinking
water is a way of keeping hydrated and allowing your internal systems to
balance themselves.
Evaporation
occurs at the air-water interface on any surface. This is counterbalanced by condensation –
where the air is saturated with water to the point where the gas condenses and
rain falls, as a function of temperature.
When the air contains moisture and the light hits it from behind, a
prism of color is generated – creating the rainbows that thrill us with their
appearance. This is a diffraction of
white light into components in the visible region of the spectrum – the narrow
band that contains the drummer whose beat we march to on the current
scale. The rainbow is a
non-discriminatory form of sorting and separating – it holds no value judgment
except for that occasional pot of gold at the end.
When
water reaches the boiling point, the molecules on the surface leave at a rate
where they are not replaced in an equilibrium exchange. Evaporation occurs at a rate proportional to
the added heat and the temperature remains at 100oC (212oF)
until all of the water is turned to steam.
The contained steam then rises in temperature and the hot gaseous water
holds enough energy to do significant work.
The steam engine was a crucial invention in modern progress – as we
transverse the reversal of the fossil fuel energy bonus, we will likely once
again make use of all our water – not as a trash and sewage receptacle, but
rather as an integral resource in the operating system of climate regulation
for the populations of Gaia.
The
water of earth is the blood fluid of a larger conscious creature that operates
on a different scale than we currently imagine.
If the entire scale of everything is mapped to a concrete form – the
very largest things and the infinitely smallest things are all the same things
– as above, so below. Imagine a giant
mobius strip that runs in a cyclic loop, embedded within another mobius strip
with a larger loop, etc. – radiating in waves from a central infinity – a small
crossing on a scale of one alongside a massive crossing on a scale of all, as
one.
Namaste' doc 04/16/13
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