What is Water: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent). It is vital for all known forms of life, even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients. Its chemical formula is H2O, meaning that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds. Two hydrogen atoms are attached to one oxygen atom at an angle of 104.45°."Water" is the name of the liquid state of H2O at standard conditions for temperature and pressure. It forms precipitation in the form of rain and aerosols in the form of fog. Clouds consist of suspended droplets of water and ice, its solid state. When finely divided, crystalline ice may precipitate in the form of snow. The gaseous state of water is steam or water vapor.
Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface, mostly in seas and oceans. Small portions of water occur as groundwater (1.7%), in the glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland (1.7%), and in the air as vapor, clouds (consisting of ice and liquid water suspended in air), and precipitation (0.001%). Water moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation, transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea.
Water plays an important role in the world economy. Approximately 70% of the freshwater used by humans goes to agriculture. Fishing in salt and fresh water bodies is a major source of food for many parts of the world. Much of the long-distance trade of commodities (such as oil, natural gas, and manufactured products) is transported by boats through seas, rivers, lakes, and canals. Large quantities of water, ice, and steam are used for cooling and heating, in industry and homes. Water is an excellent solvent for a wide variety of substances both mineral and organic; as such it is widely used in industrial processes, and in cooking and washing. Water, ice and snow are also central to many sports and other forms of entertainment, such as swimming, pleasure boating, boat racing, surfing, sport fishing, diving, ice skating and skiing.

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  1. T

    Testing water pipes with air pressure

    Picture a piping system made up of threaded steel pipes. It is to hold regular water at 7-10 bars. When testing the system for leaks, air is used due to a frost issue and the consequences of a larger leak with water. But what holds water doesn't hold air, and so it slowly leaks out. The question...
  2. |Glitch|

    I Are Red Dwarfs Home to Earth-Sized Water Worlds?

    It has always been my impression than spectral type M stars were notorious for being flare stars. As a result of their small radius and relatively low effective surface temperature, the Habitable Zone has to be relatively close to the surface of the star and small in size. As a result, it...
  3. G

    Water model for electric circuits: Pipe diameter?

    Hi. There's this nice water circuit model for electric circuits where pressure corresponds to electric potential and the (mass or volume) flow rate to electric current. In the water model, we can vary the pipe diameter along the circuit. Since water is practically incompressible, the flow rate...
  4. A

    Solve Water Balloon Lab Homework

    Homework Statement "In part 2 of the lab you will be firing a water balloon over a tall fence, aiming to hit a target." The fence is 3 meters high. You may fire the balloon from anywhere behind the fence, up to 4 meters away from it: the target will be 20 meters away. Find the angle to shoot...
  5. M

    Comparison of internal energies: hot nail versus beaker of water

    Homework Statement [/B] A nail is heated in a bunsen burner flame and is about to be dropped into a beaker of water at room temperature. a) Which of the two substances (nail or water) would you expect to initially have: i) the highest internal energy ii) the highest average kinetic...
  6. Dusty912

    Find an expression for the net force of water on a dam

    Homework Statement Find the net force of water on the dam The dam has a width of w and the water is at a depth of d. So my question is, would you have to integrate ρgwd with respect to d? because the pressure is constantly changing every value of d. Homework Equations ρgwd ρ is the density of...
  7. N

    Normally, water is a liquid but hydrogen sulphide a gas. Why?

    The accepted explanation for the existence of water as a liquid involves hydrogen bonding. Why is this phenomenon absent in the case of hydrogen sulphide?
  8. micromass

    Can Water Flow Slowly Enough to Evaporate Before Filling Up?

    Assume the water flows from the faucet sufficiently slow.
  9. rajen

    What are the operational problems in filtration in water treatment plants

    Can anyone tell me about the operational problems involved with filtration in water treatment plant?
  10. VegemiteJuice

    Determining the specific heat capacity of water

    Homework Statement Hi, I have an assignment to determine the specific heat capacity of water using a calorimeter, voltmeter and ammeter, where we connected the calorimeter to a 10V power pack and measured the temp of the water and the readings on the voltmeter and ammeter every minute. I ended...
  11. A

    Calculation of water flow rate in heat exchanger

    I am not a mechanical engineer; but I have physics background. I want to lift about 250 watts of heat from a metal block. At the same time I have to maintain its temperature at 30 deg Cel. For this I want to use water-air heat exchanger (HE). Heat exchanger will have inlet & outlet pipes. Hot...
  12. Alfreds9

    Water wicking up porous media and air humidity ?

    Hello, I'd like to know which of these 3 example I sketched would have a steadier and higher air humidity at measuring point, assuming same conditions (except those illustrated as different, like porous media thickness and measuring point), water level and air turbulence within larger container...
  13. A

    How fast can you cool water, given a large enough area/run?

    Given a lot of room, talking hundreds of feet of piping, and potentially hundreds of square meters for equipment, how fast can you drop an input ranging from 50-100C down to 5-10C? It can also be partially underground (shallow). In this case, I could use the waste heat, especially if it's in a...
  14. E

    Collecting gas over water with a eudiometer

    Homework Statement When, using a eudiometer in a lab to collect gas over water, if you have to switch eudiometers is the final volume of water displaced equal to the water displaced in the first tube + the water displaced in the second, and would the pressure be calculated through the total...
  15. cookiemonster13

    Oxygen formation in Earth water

    I always wondered why they say water and photons created the first microbes which later evolved and produced oxygen which filled our oceans and atmosphere. So how could have water existed without oxygen? I tried to look up and came up with different explanations, but it doesn't make sense.
  16. supak111

    Energy release from 75c drop in water temp, 1L?

    Hey everyone can anyone tell me how much energy is released (joules) if you take 1 liter of water at 100C and drop it down to 25C (room temp, reg pressure)? Is it significant amount? Better even how much energy is released (approximately) for every 1c drop in temp? Is the release in energy...
  17. J

    B What factors affect the rate of sinking objects in water?

    Hi All, I have a problem (with 3 separate instances) to which I believe I have the answers, but would like check with those more knowledgeable than myself. They revolve around 3 blocks sinking through water and which falls quicker. I am ignoring friction. Instance 1: All blocks are exactly the...
  18. C

    How does the energy loss change when blobbing on concrete instead of water?

    Homework Statement Blobbing is one of the extreme attractions in aquaparks. A person is lying on a big raft positioned on the surface of water and filled with low-pressured air. Another person jumps down from a given height onto the opposite end of that raft, throwing the lying person in the...
  19. R

    Carbon dioxide in water, analysis of dissolved species HPLC?

    Does anyone here have any analytical experience with dissolved gas, particularly CO2? When CO2 is dissolved in water there can be several reactions: What I would ideally like to do is dissolve CO2 into water and then by some means of analysis, see how much of each species there is in the...
  20. F

    Does the apparent length of an object change in water?

    Here is a problem that showed up on my exam that I couldn't find any variation online. A stick of length L is depth D in the water. The stick is parallel to the surface of the water, and the viewer (in air) is looking down in the water right over the middle of the stick. What is the apparent...
  21. A

    L-shaped tank problem; forces due to water pressure

    Homework Statement HELP! L-shaped tank problem! figure: http://www.webassign.net/hrw/hrw7_14-33.gif The L-shaped tank shown below is filled with water and is open at the top. (a) If d = 7.0 m, what is the force on face A due to the water? (b) What is the force on face B due to the water...
  22. O

    Evaluating my experiment; kettle water boiling efficiency

    Homework Statement Evaluate the experiment below, identifying energy loss and errors, and access their effect on the efficiency? The experiment was 'Determining the efficiency of energy conversion of boiling water in an electric kettle'. The method/system - 1. Weigh accurately 1000g of water...
  23. D

    Understanding Forces in a Whirling Tube Filled with Liquid

    Homework Statement A tube of length '##L##' is filled completely with an incompressible liquid of mass '##M##' and closed at both of the ends. The tube is then rotated in a horizontal plane about one of it's ends with a uniform angular velocity '##\omega##'. Then which of the following...
  24. C

    Two thermophores boiling water

    Homework Statement We are given two identical thermophores. It is known that one of them can boil a liter of water in t = 600 s. How much time would it take to boil one liter of water if we used two of these thermophores, connected a) in a series circuit b) in a parallel circuit Voltage: 230 V...
  25. Kaneki123

    Solubility of Non polar substances in water

    Water can dissolve O2 and CO2, both of which are non-polar...According to my understanding, water can only dissolve molecules which have polarity in their structure( like salt or sugar)...Oxygen gas is non-polar due to same atoms...I am not sure about CO2 but I think it is non-polar due to equal...
  26. Tafe

    Quantity of heat, phase change of ice to water

    Homework Statement A 1x106 kg piece of ice is placed into a lake. How much heat is taken from the lake to raise the temperature of the ice from 0 °C to 1x10-20 °C? How much volume does the lake increase by? Latent heat for water is 334x103 J/kg Homework Equations Found in my textbook, cice =...
  27. B

    Calculate pressure on surface moving in water

    Hello bright minds, I have a practical problem for which I need help solving, and I'm sure someone could help. I am wanting to place a pick up (sort of a backwards facing venturi type structure) under my kayak to fill up and supply a box with fresh water for my live baits. I would like to know...
  28. andyg007

    Energy needed to inflate approx 0.1m^3 under water

    How much energy is required to inflate a volume of 102,102cm3 with ambient air at 5cm below the surface of a water tank. The surface of the water tank is 8 meters above sea level. The object to inflate is a rubber cylinder which has a diameter of 50cm and 52cm in length with 0 resistance from...
  29. F

    Will my special siphon work please?

    Please look at this drawing of my idea, and tell me if you think it would work. The compressed air chamber on the left keeps this system un-balanced, and water is continually forced up the tube, and into the right hand chamber.
  30. M

    Squid swimming in water fluids problem

    Homework Statement Some underwater fish use a jet to move forward. The body expands with water and contracts, expelling water and thus propelling forward. For these purposes, assume that a submerged fish experiences a friction drag proportional to its surface area ##A_s## and proportional to...
  31. wolram

    Excess of chemicals found US water

    Seems like the US is having a raw deal, have you checked your water is safe to drink? https://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/0233de5148b63e6e2bd95b0fcb0daca8.htm
  32. D

    Bernoulli's equation and water exit speed from tank opening

    Homework Statement Use Bernoulli’s equation to calculate how fast the water emerges from the open tap (at position 2) in the figure(a). You may assume that the water at position 1 moves negligibly slowly (b) The tap is rotated to create a fountain as shown in (b) Calculate the maximum height h...
  33. S

    Phase change material steady melt temp, like ice water?

    Ice melting in a box has the water coming off it at a temp just above freezing until all the ice is gone. Are all phase change materials pretty much the same, with their immediate containment container exterior staying pretty much just above their phase change temp until all the PCM inside has...
  34. grandpa2390

    Why does Water Vapor have 12 degrees of freedom?

    Homework Statement How many degrees of freedom does water vapor have Homework Equations Translational up to 3 rotational up to 3 Vibration up to 6 The Attempt at a Solution Well I said water vapor had 3 translational. It can move along the x, y, or z axis I said it had 2 rotational (the...
  35. moenste

    Heating water in a kettle (time, boil out time, work done)

    Homework Statement A domestic kettle is marked 250 V, 2.3 kW and the manufacturer claims that it will heat a pint of water to boiling point in 94 s. (a) Test this claim by calculation and state any simplifying assumptions you make. (b) If the kettle is left switched on after it boils, how long...
  36. CivilSigma

    Derivative in mass flow rate equation - Hydrology

    Hello, I am working with the mass flow rate equation which is:$$\frac{d \dot{m}}{dt}=\dot{m}_{in}-\dot{m}_{out}$$ To determine the change of the height of water in a reservoir. Assuming m_in = 10 and m_out = sqrt(20h), then : $$\frac{d (\rho \cdot Q) }{dt}=\rho \cdot Q_{in} - \rho\cdot...
  37. S

    Gas (DO) saturation under pressure in water

    I understand that pure water that's being aerated will only take up just so much dissolved oxygen (DO) and that that depends on the temperature of the water. I see ranges of 14 ppm at close to freezing and around 6 ppm at 50 C as normal maximums. I understand, too, that you can temporarily...
  38. Ravi Singh choudhary

    What will happen to the water level of the swimming pool?

    if the person sitting in the boat throws a pebble to the swimming pool. Pebble was initially contained inside the boat and of course it has higher density than water.
  39. allister109

    B Does water pressure decrease in zero gravity?

    me and my friend were talking on facebook and we couldn't think of an answer to the question, would water pressure decrease in zero G, you can see how far along we got before getting stuck in the picture belowhttps://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/105576
  40. euphorik

    Help me move a floating bridge 90 degrees w/o getting wet

    Hello! I was hoping someone here could help me solve a real world problem. So my university pool has something called a bulkhead, which is basically a bridge that floats above the water so that people can walk across the shorter dimension of the rectangular pool (50 meters long, 25 yards wide)...
  41. Samwoodford1996

    Which Funnel Will Allow Water to Flow Faster?

    If you was to pour the same about of water though a thin funnel say 1 inch and through a big funnel say 5 inch which of the funnels will the water reach a higher speed ??
  42. N

    Water wheels and mathematical equation

    Hello everyone, currently working on a physics project. I was very curios about waterwheels and actually have an overshot waterwheel setup. I was testing how the efficiency of a waterwheel would be effected by the drop height of water onto the waterwheel. Do any of you have any idea how I can...
  43. Assim

    Cooling Hot Water: Find a Solution in 10-15 mins

    I have a project which i need to cool down certain quantity of hot water. I need to cool down water of around 25 litres at 50 Degree celcius to 30 Degree celcius, Static water, not flowing. (or incoming 50 Degrees - Outgoing 30 Degrees with approx 1.5 gallons per minute flow rate) time...
  44. C

    Water Flow Mechanics: Solving a Homework Statement

    Homework Statement The Attempt at a Solution I do not understand why it tells me to compute the min. flow rate instead of max. and I don't whether I am correct[/B]
  45. D

    Calculating Pressure Inside a Water Mist Droplet

    Homework Statement What's the gauge pressure inside a droplet of water mist of diameter 0.1 mm (radius 0.05 mm), assuming that the droplet is spherical? Use a water-air surface tension of 0.07 Jm\(^{-2}\) and specify your answer in bar /atmospheres (where 1 atmosphere pressure is \(1 \times...
  46. P

    Isothermal (almost) compression of gas by water injection

    http://www.fluidmechanics.co.uk/ I have found this by searching net. The inventor claimed that by using a new kind of piston fitted with fins, he achieved almost isothermal compression and greatly reduced the power consumption process. I want to know how much theoretically sound it is.
  47. E

    Why water looks transparent while spray looks white?

    The water looks transparent, but when the water hit the stone, it looks as if it turns white? Why?
  48. Assim

    Find BTU Required for Water Cooling ?

    Homework Statement [/B] Calculate the BTU/hr required for water to lower its temperature to find the compressor capacity required - Cool 30 Liters of water from 50 degree Celsius(T1) to 25 Degree Celsius(T2) – ( 122 to 77 Fahrenheit ) -Water in a closed vessel, Static, not flowing. -Max...
  49. F

    Circular motion of a bucket filled with water

    Consider a bucket filled with water in vertical circular motion. Why does there exist a contact force between water and the bucket when the bucket is at the top of center of rotation? What will happen if I remove the bottom part of the bucket when it is on the top?
  50. AndresPB

    I Help with a Reference Level of Radon in Water

    Guys, I'm keep searching for a WHO standard of Radon of Water in Bq/m3 but I can't find one. Can anyone help me find some references of maximun contamination level of Radon in Water? It may be EPA, or something else too. Thanks a lot
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