For many centuries, people could not imagine what water really is and how it formed on the planet. Until the 19th century, people did not know that in fact water is a chemical element. It was believed that it is an ordinary chemical element. More recently, it was discovered that water is a chemical element whose formula is H2O.
The chemical properties of water depend on the physical nature of its atoms, as well as how they are combined into a molecule and the subsequent grouping of the formed molecules. Since it is constantly in contact with various substances, water is a solution with a very complex composition. Moreover, it manifests itself as an excellent solvent, since it is capable of dissolving liquids, and solids, and gases.
The properties of such a solvent are especially good in seawater, since it can dissolve almost all substances. About seventy elements of the periodic system can be found in its composition. Even rare radioactive elements can be found in sea and ocean water. The most common substances in water are chlorine, sodium, sulfur, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, bromine, carbon and boron.
Today, researchers are discovering increasingly complex and subtle mechanisms for organizing water mass. It is considered the most difficult compound of all substances known to physicists and chemists. The chemical composition of the water may not differ, but at the same time it will have a different effect on the human body, as it was formed under certain conditions.
The chemical properties of water also depend on its molecular structure. In particular, a water molecule consists of three atoms, which are formed in the form of an isosceles triangle. At its top is an oxygen atom, while at the base are two hydrogen atoms. In this case, the valence angle of the HOH compound is 104.31 °.
There are also some physical and chemical properties of water that run counter to the principles of the periodic table. In particular, the highest characteristics of water are those that in essence should be much lower. This applies to freezing and boiling points, heat of fusion and vaporization.
The freezing and boiling points of the hydride elements of the oxygen subgroup decrease as the compound is facilitated. If such a pattern acted on water, then it would boil at a deeply negative temperature value, at -70 ° C, and would freeze at -90 ° C. This, in turn, would provoke the absence of water on the Earth, since it could not be contained in either liquid or solid state. The only option is a gaseous state.
Regarding the heat of vaporization, we can say that for the evaporation of water heated to 100 ° C, 6 times more heat is needed than for heating a similar mass of water to 80 ° C.
With every minute, a million tons of water in the hydrosphere evaporates from solar heat. As a result of such exposure, an enormous amount of heat is constantly contained in the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the fact that 40 thousand powerful power plants would be generated.
Such unique physical and chemical properties of water allow it to be widely used in production activities. In particular, in metallurgy, for the most part, boiling water is used for cooling. This seemingly paradoxical act is explained by the fact that cooling occurs due to the heat of vaporization. At the same time, there is no need to build extra cooling towers.
Of course, boiling water as a cooler can be used only in those facilities where the heating temperature exceeds 100 ° C.
The unique physicochemical properties of water make it possible to use it in agriculture, and not only for watering plants. For example, when sudden frosts occur in late spring that threaten flowering trees, gardeners carry out the so-called sprinkling of the garden. A shroud of fine spray envelops the freezing trees. Drops of water also cover the flowers themselves. Then it quickly turns into ice and hides flowers, giving off its warmth to them.
As you can see, water, the chemical properties of which have not yet been fully studied, is a unique compound that supports all life on the planet and is an integral part of human life.