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Why is the water wet?

crossfire

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
Monk Of Reason said:
We simply means to be covered or saturated with a liquid. I can be wet and have no water involved. For example liquid nitrogen is "wet".
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Liquid mercury is "dry." It doesn't "stick" to you like other liquids. It "sticks to itself."
 
crossfire

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
Alright, labels are to the mind as the wetness of water is to a blotter. :cool:

Everyone satisfied now?
 
Tiapan

Tiapan

Grumpy Old Man
BSM1 said:
I know at first blush this seems somewhat of an absurd question, but why is water wet and what is wetness? Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen. Are either of those elements characteristically 'wet'? Or maybe they carry a 'wet' gene in their make up. If that's the case, is hydrogen 1/4 wet and oxygen 1/2 wet? Is this why it takes two hydrogen atoms and on oxygen atom to compose a molecule we say is wet? Although I don't lose sleep over this question it would be nice if someone could describe the being of wetness without making it sound like just another illusion we call reality.

Peace Out.
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Oxygen is a bit greedy when it comes to the electrons that bind atoms to form bonds that make molecules.

Electrons have a negative charge.

Poor old hydrogen is not very strong at holding onto electrons.

So when two hydrogen atoms and oxygen atom are combined to form a molecule of water the oxygen tends to hog the electrons leaving the positive nucleus of the hydrogen atoms exposed.

Because of this we call water a POLAR molecule, similar to a little bar magnet, one end is negative (the oxygen atom because all the negative electrons are there) and the positive hydrogen ends (where the positive nucleus is exposed).

Because electrical opposites attract, the little positive and negative ends of adjacent molecules tend to stick together. This leads to many intriguing properties of water and in fact it is quite a unique and amazing compound, and explains phenomena like surface tension, why ice floats and why water has a much higher boiling point than would be predicted by studying other members of the analogous series of compounds such as H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide).

We call this stickiness Hydrogen bonding. As the skin and glass and many other substances also have similar Oxygen - Hydrogen bonds so water sticks readily to them through Hydrogen Bonds thus WETTING the surface, where as Mercury for example has no Hydrogen bonds and beads on such surfaces because there is no attraction.

Many substances interact this way so we have terms like Hydrophilic (water loving) and Hydropobic (water hating).





I hope that helps

Cheers
and peace be with you too
 
Last edited:
BSM1

BSM1

What? Me worry?
Tiapan said:
Oxygen is a bit greedy when it comes to the electrons that bind atoms to form bonds that make molecules.

Electrons have a negative charge.

Poor old hydrogen is not very strong at holding onto electrons.

So when two hydrogen atoms and oxygen atom are combined to form a molecule of water the oxygen tends to hog the electrons leaving the positive nucleus of the hydrogen atoms exposed.

Because of this we call water a POLAR molecule, similar to a little bar magnet, one end is negative (the oxygen atom because all the negative electrons are there) and the positive hydrogen ends (where the positive nucleus is exposed).

Because electrical opposites attract, the little positive and negative ends of adjacent molecules tend to stick together. This leads to many intriguing properties of water and in fact it is quite a unique and amazing compound, and explains phenomena like surface tension, why ice floats and why water has a much higher boiling point than would be predicted by studying other members of the analogous series of compounds such as H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide).

We call this stickiness Hydrogen bonding. As the skin and glass and many other substances also have similar Oxygen - Hydrogen bonds so water sticks readily to them through Hydrogen Bonds thus WETTING the surface, where as Mercury for example has no Hydrogen bonds and beads on such surfaces because there is no attraction.

Many substances interact this way so we have terms like Hydrophilic (water loving) and Hydropobic (water hating).





I hope that helps

Cheers
and peace be with you too
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Although I understand molecular bonding, you did give me usable information, and I thank you for that. However I am still struggling with the "wetness" of water. For example, if you take a Victoria's Secret model, dress her in nothing but a t-shirt, and walk her through a tank of hydrogen then you would have a thing of beauty coming out of the other side, If you march the same t-shirt clad model through a tank of oxygen again you would be pleased when she emerges. But if you walk the same model with the same garb through a tank of properly combined hydrogen and oxygen then what you would have on the other end of the tank is a completely different view of the world, at least for twenty minutes or so. It's this "wetness" that I find amazing, especially since it's so very transient.
 
Tiapan

Tiapan

Grumpy Old Man
BSM1 said:
Although I understand molecular bonding, you did give me usable information, and I thank you for that. However I am still struggling with the "wetness" of water. For example, if you take a Victoria's Secret model, dress her in nothing but a t-shirt, and walk her through a tank of hydrogen then you would have a thing of beauty coming out of the other side, If you march the same t-shirt clad model through a tank of oxygen again you would be pleased when she emerges. But if you walk the same model with the same garb through a tank of properly combined hydrogen and oxygen then what you would have on the other end of the tank is a completely different view of the world, at least for twenty minutes or so. It's this "wetness" that I find amazing, especially since it's so very transient.
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You are right.

Both Hydrogen H2 and Oxygen O2, are both NON-POLAR so they will not "wet" the garment to the body, but combined as water which is POLAR the "wetness" and translucency you require will occur.

I am afraid, however, your model would end up being rather frigid literally, as she would freeze solid ,whether clothed or naked, in either liquid hydrogen (bp -259C) or liquid oxygen (bp -182C). It may take quite a while for her to thaw.

Also being organic in nature the body of the model may immediately catch fire and in some circumstances explode in liquid oxygen


Cheers
 
BSM1

BSM1

What? Me worry?
Tiapan said:
You are right.


I am afraid, however, your model would end up being rather frigid literally, as she would freeze solid ,whether clothed or naked, in either liquid hydrogen (bp -259C) or liquid oxygen (bp -182C). It may take quite a while for her to thaw.

Also being organic in nature the body of the model may immediately catch fire and in some circumstances explode in liquid oxygen


Cheers
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Hey! It's my science fantasy :D.
 
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