Water

Water (H 2O) is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, which is nearly colorless apart from an inherent hint of.
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Water boils at lower temperatures with the lower air pressure that occurs at higher elevations. One mole of sucrose sugar per kilogram of water raises the boiling point of water by 0.

water | Definition, Chemical Formula, Structure, & Facts | leondumoulin.nl

Solutes in water also affect water activity that affects many chemical reactions and the growth of microbes in food. Water hardness is also a critical factor in food processing and may be altered or treated by using a chemical ion exchange system. It can dramatically affect the quality of a product, as well as playing a role in sanitation. Water hardness is classified based on concentration of calcium carbonate the water contains. Water for injection is on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines. Much of the universe's water is produced as a byproduct of star formation.

The formation of stars is accompanied by a strong outward wind of gas and dust. When this outflow of material eventually impacts the surrounding gas, the shock waves that are created compress and heat the gas. The water observed is quickly produced in this warm dense gas.

On 22 July , a report described the discovery of a gigantic cloud of water vapor containing " trillion times more water than all of Earth's oceans combined" around a quasar located 12 billion light years from Earth. According to the researchers, the "discovery shows that water has been prevalent in the universe for nearly its entire existence". Water has been detected in interstellar clouds within our galaxy , the Milky Way. Based on models of the formation and evolution of the Solar System and that of other star systems, most other planetary systems are likely to have similar ingredients.

Water and other volatiles probably comprise much of the internal structures of Uranus and Neptune and the water in the deeper layers may be in the form of ionic water in which the molecules break down into a soup of hydrogen and oxygen ions, and deeper still as superionic water in which the oxygen crystallises but the hydrogen ions float about freely within the oxygen lattice. The existence of liquid water, and to a lesser extent its gaseous and solid forms, on Earth are vital to the existence of life on Earth as we know it. Earth's gravity allows it to hold an atmosphere. Water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere provide a temperature buffer greenhouse effect which helps maintain a relatively steady surface temperature.

If Earth were smaller, a thinner atmosphere would allow temperature extremes, thus preventing the accumulation of water except in polar ice caps as on Mars. The surface temperature of Earth has been relatively constant through geologic time despite varying levels of incoming solar radiation insolation , indicating that a dynamic process governs Earth's temperature via a combination of greenhouse gases and surface or atmospheric albedo. This proposal is known as the Gaia hypothesis. The state of water on a planet depends on ambient pressure, which is determined by the planet's gravity.

If a planet is sufficiently massive, the water on it may be solid even at high temperatures, because of the high pressure caused by gravity, as it was observed on exoplanets Gliese b [] and GJ b. Water politics is politics affected by water and water resources. For this reason, water is a strategic resource in the globe and an important element in many political conflicts. It causes health impacts and damage to biodiversity. Access to safe drinking water has improved over the last decades in almost every part of the world, but approximately one billion people still lack access to safe water and over 2.

This trend is projected to continue. This goal is projected to be reached. A United Nations report stated that "there is enough water for everyone", but that access to it is hampered by mismanagement and corruption. The authors of the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture cited poor governance as one reason for some forms of water scarcity. Water governance is the set of formal and informal processes through which decisions related to water management are made.

Good water governance is primarily about knowing what processes work best in a particular physical and socioeconomic context. Mistakes have sometimes been made by trying to apply 'blueprints' that work in the developed world to developing world locations and contexts. The Mekong river is one example; a review by the International Water Management Institute of policies in six countries that rely on the Mekong river for water found that thorough and transparent cost-benefit analyses and environmental impact assessments were rarely undertaken.

They also discovered that Cambodia's draft water law was much more complex than it needed to be.


  1. Water officials predict a rainy winter that won't make up deficit | The Times of Israel!
  2. How to Make Choices You Wont Regret (40-Minute Bible Studies)?
  3. Global Insider Interview: China-Germany Relations (World Politics Review Global Insiders).
  4. Fugitive Visions, op. 22, no. 16 (Dolente).
  5. Water - Wikipedia?

In , the UK charity WaterAid reported that a child dies every 15 seconds from easily preventable water-related diseases; often this means lack of sewage disposal; see toilet. The International Water Management Institute undertakes projects with the aim of using effective water management to reduce poverty.

Water is considered a purifier in most religions. Faiths that incorporate ritual washing ablution include Christianity, Hinduism , Islam , Judaism , the Rastafari movement , Shinto , Taoism , and Wicca. Immersion or aspersion or affusion of a person in water is a central sacrament of Christianity where it is called baptism ; it is also a part of the practice of other religions, including Islam Ghusl , Judaism mikvah and Sikhism Amrit Sanskar.

In addition, a ritual bath in pure water is performed for the dead in many religions including Islam and Judaism. In Islam, the five daily prayers can be done in most cases after completing washing certain parts of the body using clean water wudu , unless water is unavailable see Tayammum. In Shinto, water is used in almost all rituals to cleanse a person or an area e.

In Christianity, holy water is water that has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism , the blessing of persons, places, and objects, or as a means of repelling evil. The Ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles held that water is one of the four classical elements along with fire, earth and air , and was regarded as the ylem , or basic substance of the universe.

Thales , who was portrayed by Aristotle as an astronomer and an engineer, theorized that the earth, which is denser than water, emerged from the water.


  • Why three South African firefighters died from lack of water - BBC News?
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    • Thales, a monist , believed further that all things are made from water. Plato believed the shape of water is an icosahedron which accounts for why it is able to flow easily compared to the cube-shaped earth. In the theory of the four bodily humors , water was associated with phlegm , as being cold and moist. The classical element of water was also one of the five elements in traditional Chinese philosophy , along with earth , fire , wood , and metal. Water is also taken as a role model in some parts of traditional and popular Asian philosophy. James Legge's translation of the Dao De Jing states, "The highest excellence is like that of water.

    The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving to the contrary , the low place which all men dislike. Hence its way is near to that of the Tao" and "There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it—for there is nothing so effectual for which it can be changed.

    Water's technically correct but rarely used chemical name , "dihydrogen monoxide", has been used in a series of hoaxes and pranks that mock scientific illiteracy. The false story consisted of safety concerns about the substance. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about general aspects of water. For a detailed discussion of its physical and chemical properties, see Properties of water. For other uses, see Water disambiguation. Water data page and Water model. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

    Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. May Learn how and when to remove this template message. Chemical bonding of H2O. Hydrology and Water distribution on Earth. The Bay of Fundy at high tide left and low tide right. Hydrobiology , Marine life , and Aquatic plant. Water distribution on Earth.

    Water law , Water right , and Water crisis. Water portal Sustainable development portal. Retrieved 20 December A Guide to the World's Freshwater Resources.

    PREPARING FOR A HOME WATER BIRTH!!!

    Archived from the original on 8 April Archived 8 July at the Wayback Machine. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Retrieved 20 May Chemistry of the Elements 2nd ed. Campbell Biology 10 ed. Retrieved 15 November Alice's Adventures in Water-land. International Journal of Nanotechnology.

    Why three South African firefighters died from lack of water

    Eugene 18 December Rolls , "Emotion Explained". Oxford University Press, Medical. Precht , "Frog Neurobiology: Water Science and Technology. Retrieved on 28 September D; Shukla, A; Platzman, P. R; Barbiellini, B; Tulk, C. A 1 March Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids. Retrieved 14 September Journal of Chemical Physics.


    • Water | Definition of Water by Merriam-Webster.
    • Giving environmental water to drought-stricken farmers sounds straightforward, but it's a bad idea;
    • The Health Benefits of Water.

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      Archived from the original on 20 April Retrieved 3 March Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method". Retrieved 14 May International Journal of Obesity. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. How much should you drink every day? Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: A Course in Household Arts: Essentials of Food Science. Principles of Food Chemistry. Retrieved 30 January Retrieved 22 April Retrieved 20 July The Harvard University Gazette. Archived from the original on 16 January Radio telescope finds water is common in universe".

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      Old and shabby

      Retrieved 12 December W; Blake, Geoffrey A Retrieved 24 September Water in the Universe. Retrieved 4 December Water in stellar atmospheres "Is a novel picture required to explain the atmospheric behavior of water in red giant stars? Retrieved 15 December Archived 23 May at the Wayback Machine. In fact, the growing political pressure being put on environmental water holders to sell their water to farmers is exactly the kind of interference that bodies such as the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder were established to avoid.

      The ongoing sustainable use of rivers is based on key ecosystem functions being maintained, and this means that environmental water is needed in both wet and dry years. The objectives of environmental watering change from providing larger wetland inundation events in wet years, to maintaining critical refuges and basic ecosystem functions in dry years. Prolonged dry periods cause severe stress to ecosystems, such as during the Millennium Drought when many Murray River red gums were sickened by salinity and lack of water. Environmental water is essential for ecosystem survival during these periods.

      Under existing rules, environmental water holders can sell and buy water so as to deliver maximum benefits at the places and times it is most needed. But during dry years the environmental water holders receive the same water allocations as other users. During a dry period, the environment is in urgent need of water to protect endangered species and maintain basic ecosystem functions. We should be cautious when environmental water is sold during drought , as this compromises the ability of environmental water holders to meet their objectives of safeguarding river health.

      When the funds from the sale are not used to mitigate the loss of the available water to the environment , this is even more risky. Water markets are underpinned by clear legal rights to water. In other words, the entitlements the environment holds are the same as those held by irrigators. Maintaining the integrity of the water market is important for all participants who have chosen to sell water, based on reasonable expectations of how prices will hold up.

      But the Murray-Darling Basin Plan already has specific arrangements in place for emergencies in which critical human water needs are threatened. It was meant to be a routine call-out, but something went terribly wrong. The firemen discovered the building had no water too late - and three men who had gone into it to save lives, lost theirs.

      Twenty-eight-year-old Simphiwe Moropane was the first to die in the tragedy, after he slipped and fell from the 23rd floor. He had run out of oxygen and had gone to the ledge to try to get air, fellow firefighters revealed at the memorial service held at Ellis Park stadium on Wednesday.

      I had to search his pockets to find a form of identifying him - that's how crushed his body was," Mr Zwane told mourners. The City of Johannesburg tweeted updates from the memorial, using the hashtag "JoburgsBravest". Sorry, this Twitter post is currently unavailable. The two other firefighters, year-old Mduduzi Ndlovu and year-old Kathutshelo Muedi, suffocated to death after they became trapped in the building. Family members sobbed and comforted each other during the memorial as the details of the tragedy were shared.

      Investigations into what caused the fire are on-going but many believe the men were doomed from the beginning because of the shoddy state of the building. It was old and the lifts were not working, so the firefighters had to walk all the way up to the 23rd floor where the blaze started. Not a single floor had water, the memorial was told. The building housed the departments of health, human settlements and cooperative governance and traditional affairs for Gauteng, South Africa's wealthiest province - home to Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria.

      The report was commissioned in by the Gauteng Infrastructure Development to assess various buildings around the city.