Researchers at the University of Stockholm, in Sweden, have discovered two phases of water in a liquid state that present great differences in their structure and density. This discovery is based on X-ray experiments and has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).
We are all aware of the fundamental role that water has for the existence of life on Earth. In fact, it is the main component of the human body: we are 75% water at birth and approximately 65% in our adulthood.
But water has many strange properties, and in fact in many aspects – such as boiling point, density or heat capacity, among many others – it behaves differently from most liquids : thus, for example, the Water is one of the few substances that in solid state become less dense. And these anomalous properties are a prerequisite for life as we know it today.
Anders Nilsson, Professor of Chemical Physics at the University of Stockholm, comments on the discovery they have made: “The most novel and remarkable feature is that we have found that water can exist as two different liquids at low temperatures in which the crystallization of the ice is slow ”.
For her part, Katrin Amann-Winkel, a researcher at the same university, points out: “It is a dream come true to follow in such detail how a crystalline state of water transforms into a viscous liquid that transforms, almost immediately, into a different liquid. , even more viscous, of a much lower density ”.
In this way, the team of researchers has shown that water has two different liquid states. “Simply put: water is not a complicated liquid, but two simple liquids with a complicated relationship ,” sums up Lars GM Pettersson, Professor of Theoretical Chemical Physics at Stockholm University.
Why is this discovery important? Because a greater understanding of the water molecule could provide us with clues to learn more about the origin of life and even lead us to new insights on how to purify and desalinate water in the future.
