Unique Behavior of H20 @ 4o C.

[RascalPuff]

All known universal elements & compounds expand when heat is applied to them and conversely contract when heat is subracted from them: except water...

At 4 degrees Centigrade, water expands when heat is applied to or subracted from it.

The standard explanation for this is that, at 4o C., the H20 molecules are arranged most closely together and at their most dense arrangement; hence when heat is subracted, the density decreases as the freezing water occupies more space and volumetrically expands; when heat is added the densely arranged molecules distance themselves from one another correspondingly.

Water is the only known substance that behaves this way as regards the specified temperature changes and density variations, and for this reason should be scrutinized for being an exception to the thermodynamic rule.

[labelwench]

The presence of water also being a prerequisite for life as we know it, and that our bodies are comprised mainly of H20 are additional reasons to learn more about this exception to a standard rule.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Ice Floats on Water

If water lacked the bizarre property
Of the title above,
Ice would sink and no longer
Hold-in the water’s warmth,
Which would then radiate the heat away,
Leaving it chillier
And, of course, creating more ice;
But, it’s not like that.