Chapter 10
EVERYWHERE
from Rime of the
Ancient Mariner:46
Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
.................
And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.
Everywhere? Sure... on land and sea and in the air! Furthermore, a recent Japanese study suggests that there is nearly 5 times more water trapped beneath the Earth’s crust than exists on the Earth’s surface !47
Note, at this juncture, how very limitless are the fun and fascination options as we study the blue planet! For this chapter let’s simply consider the wonder of water.
H2O is underrated; at best it’s taken for granted... ignorantly so. It’s characteristics are unlike your more nondescript molecules; the H2O molecule is a wonder of design.
A molecule is the smallest particle of anything which has all of its chemical characteristics. A single atom of oxygen, for example, is an atom. If an atom of oxygen bonds with a single hydrogen atom, it still isn’t a water molecule. A water molecule exists when a second hydrogen atom bonds with the oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Only then do you have H2O... water! Water molecules, as with all other molecules, can exist in any of three states; solid, liquid and gas: ice, water and water vapor.
The H2O molecule is special because it is a smiley face with 2 excellent ears! Yes! Water is the Mickey Mouse molecule! Because of electromagnetic polarity, the hydrogen atoms are attracted to one side of the larger oxygen atom to create this special, friendly shape.
Source: http://www.shorstmeyer.com/wxfaqs/float/watermolec.html
Source: http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html
The oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus, 2 electrons
in its first shell and 6 electrons in it’s outer shell. (You may
wish to take a quick look at chapter 4 for a reminder of these terms.)
Thus the oxygen atom is electrically balanced with 8 positively charged
particles (protons) and 8 negatively charged particles (electrons).
The oxygen atom’s first shell is filled, having 2 electrons...
the most that the innermost shell of any atom can have. The second shell,
however, can have as many as 8 electrons. But the oxygen atom, again,
has only 6 electrons in its second (outer) shell. Thus, it has room
for 2 more electrons in its outer shell.
A molecule is a marriage of atoms. Atoms are basically very unselfish
things, and, in solitude, very lonely. They are always seeking partners
with whom to better experience the full meaning of matter. It is not
normal, however, for unwed atoms to seek atoms which enjoy marital fulness.
No. Despite its intense loneliness, an unwed atom is not attracted to
a fully married atom. But when a lonely hydrogen atom, wandering about
in the crowded world of married atoms, finds a lonely oxygen atom, the
mutual attraction is undeniable and their marriage is immediate and
will endure nearly anything to remain faithful. Because bigamy does
not apply to atoms, an oxygen atom has room in its heart for a second
hydrogen atom!
A hydrogen atom has 1 proton in its nucleus and 1 electron in its single shell. Thus the hydrogen atom is electrically balanced (as are all atoms, by definition). Because the single shell of any atom can have 2 electrons, the hydrogen atom can join in material matrimony with any other willing and available atom! The outer shell of the oxygen atom has room for 2 additional electrons and it takes 2 hydrogen atoms (each with a single electron) to fill its outer shell. The total (molecular) result is a single, bonded unit with 10 protons in 3 nuclei and 10 electrons in 4 shells (1 shell for each hydrogen atom and 2 shells for the oxygen atom).
Wanna hear an impossibility that is? Newton’s concept of physics must be pitched for this one! The 8 electrons of the 3 outer shells (oxygen’s inner shell is unaffected by this) combine to exist in all places at the same time around all 3 atoms now! Making the molecule a defensible chunk of matter. Woe!
It may be that water is everywhere, it is also important to note that it must be available for life to be and it must be available virtually everywhere for life to thrive. There is much debate over whether life might be found on Mars. The key in the debate is water, frozen at the Martian poles and possibly in abundance beneath the Martian surface. Perhaps sub-surface Martian H2O exists in a liquid state, if there is sufficient heat in the Martian crust for H2O to be found in that tight temperature band which separates freezing from boiling.
46 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834. The ancient mariner had shot a talking albatross with his cross-bow. The ship’s crew believed that this action brought a curse on the ship which came to be trapped near the windless equator (in the ITCZ where air converges and rises and, like the horse latitudes, there is no wind!). The sails were motionless as reserves of food and water disappeared and sailers began to die. (Note that “rime” was, in Coleridge’s day, correct spelling.)
47 - National Geographic News, March 7, 2002. Based on theorized heat in the lower Earth’s mantle which, under laboratory conditions, naturally squeezes water molecules from mantle rock (according to theorized composition of mantle rock). The result is super-hot water held under great pressure in incredible abundance, specifically 0.19% of total mass. That may seem a tiny amount, but consider that all surface waters combined total only 0.02% of the Earth’s total mass.