You Don't Understand Water (and Neither Does Anyone Else)

Water is weird… really weird. We’re gonna dive into the controversial chemistry and heated debates around the science of what gives water it’s super unusual properties, and maybe bust a popular water myth along the way.
#H2O #hydrogenbonding #dinosaurpee
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Credits:
Executive Producers:
Hilary Hudson
Producers:
Elaine Seward
Andrew Sobey
Darren Weaver
Writer/Host:
Alex Dainis, PhD
Scientific consultants:
Michelle Boucher, PhD
Xijie Wang, PhD
Emiliano Brini, PhD
Brianne Raccor, PhD
Sources:
How Water’s Properties Are Encoded in Its Molecular Structure and
Energies:
pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/...
Why is the maximum density of water at 4°C?
socratic.org/questions/why-is...
A Two-State Picture of Water and the Funnel of Life:
arxiv.org/pdf/1905.02757.pdf
What is life?-lecture: Lars G M Pettersson:
• What is life?-lecture:...
Dipole-Dipole Force:
courses.lumenlearning.com/int....
Nuclear Quantum Effects in Sodium Hydroxide Solutions from Neural Network Molecular Dynamics Simulations:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs....
Nuclear quantum effects enter the mainstream:
www.nature.com/articles/s4157...
Supercooled water reveals its secrets:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
Why Water Doesn’t Behave Like a “Normal” Liquid:
www.ibm.com/blogs/research/20...
Direct Evidence in the Scattering Function for the Coexistence of Two Types of Local Structures in Liquid Water:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs...
A mechanism for water splitting and oxygen production in photosynthesis:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28368...
Origin of Water’s Strange Properties: Scientists Capture a “Quantum Tug” Between Neighboring Water Molecules:
scitechdaily.com/origin-of-wa...
SLAC Megaelectronvolt Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Instrument: MeV-UED:
lcls.slac.stanford.edu/instru...
Supercritical water anomalies in the vicinity of the Widom line:
www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
Markov state model of the two-state behaviour of water:
www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/132...
New study provides evidence for decades-old theory to explain the odd behaviors of water:
www.princeton.edu/news/2020/0...
Second critical point in two realistic models of water:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
What is life?-lecture: Lars G M Pettersson:
• What is life?-lecture:...
LDL vs HDL water:
• LDL vs HDL water

[@ACSReactions]

And did you know there are 17 different kinds of ice, each with their own crystal structure?! Different environmental factors like temperature and pressure determine their formation: for example, Ice VII is most commonly associated with planets and moons beyond earth!

[@jacksonstarky8288]

The number of different forms of ice is one of my favourite things in all of science. It would make a great video topic.

[@sbabcock7476]

I believe it was one Felix Hoenikker who created ice nine. Or at least that’s what my college chemistry textbook “Cat’s Cradle” told me.

[@jordanviray]

Every year one of my students will look at a PT diagram and ask why the liquid does not turn to a solid at high pressure at a given temperature so out comes the extended chart and ice types. Maybe you guys can do one on what makes ice slippery at very low temperatures where the pressure of an ice skate is not enough to cause melting. I don't have an explanation other than "heat from friction"

[@AlexDainisPhD]

@@jordanviray Oh this is a super cool one! So I think (and a quick google is confirming my old recollection, haha) that for a long time scientists thought the pressure/heat was causing a thin layer of ice to form but now they maybe think ice is just always slippery because the top layer of molecules behaves more like a liquid than a solid?!

[@PeterPete]

the earth's a level plane - the only 'planet earth' that exists is within people's imaginations!!

[@lambdabaryon]

As someone currently doing water research it's nice to see an outreach video on the topic

[@AlexDainisPhD]

Oh so cool!! What is your research on?

[@lambdabaryon]

@@AlexDainisPhD It's basically using modified cryoEM to study how the freezing of water affects its structure :D (it's the final project of my undergrad in physical chemistry)

[@AlexDainisPhD]

@@lambdabaryon Oh woah! One of the things we just didn't have time to talk about in this video was the many crystal structures of ice, but it was really really fascinating! Maybe another future video!

[@3glitch9]

Wow, like Dr Emoto did after exposing water to different frequencies. What I wouldn't give to do that and compare with deuterium depleted water and Dr. Pollacks 4th phase of water - H302.

[@Epic-so3ek]

How could water research possibly do anything practical for society, just useless theory. We don’t even really use it that much in society!! ///s loll

[@jacksonstarky8288]

Thank you for that bonus rant! And yes... water is very weird. It needs impurities to freeze, and yet when salt is added, it lowers the freezing point.

[@wild_lee_coyote]

Another interesting aspect of water, ice specifically, is that is doesn’t lose its structure when it approaches it melting point. Heat a metal rod and it severely weakens as you approach it melting point, hence blacksmithing. But ice keeps it structural integrity right up to its melting point. -1°C ice is just as strong as -100°C Ice. Even the formation of ice is incredibly strong. Just trying to create a container that can withstand freezing water without deforming is extremely challenging. H2O is probably the most complex simple molecule in this universe. It defies convention.

[@AlexDainisPhD]

This is also SO COOL. It seems so simple but it has all of these incredible properties. I love your designation as “the most complex simple molecule!”

[@heitzd1]

"That's not how any of this works" is the most under-rated scientific phrase...I never realized how often I have that thought when I have to explain something!

[@dwaynezilla]

Bonus rant is a very nice addition, haha. This whole topic is really fascinating, and I am hoping if more comes to light it gets touched-on again in a video like this!

[@alveolate]

it's not dinosaur pee! it's just dinosaur-reacted hydrogen and oxygen atoms!

[@alveolate]

honestly, water chemistry should be its own subject. it's basically like learning normal chemistry and then saying "yeaaaa except water doesn't do that."

[@SuperMirtillo]

Great video! Just a tip, at 2:01 the dash between the name of the "water" and the temperature can be interpreted as the negative sign "-" So it looks like: ice -0.0, water -0.1, water -4.0.

[@dwaynezilla]

"Seriously, this is what it looks like" These vacuum chamber setups always make great photos, haha. So mad-scientisty but actually doing experiments and not just random background stuff!

[@JowSithm]

Excellent!! One of the most fascinating things I've seen in a while! Thank you!!

[@saiganeshmanda4904]

Hey Alex! Wow, such a wonderful and calming video presentation! At 6:04, you could have edited it out of the video but you probably left it unedited to make it seem more genuine. This is what makes it more funny and interesting and hence earns you a ton of subscribers! For some reason, I was glad that you didn't cut out that misspelling at 6:04; thank you for this content you're making. I hope more people will be as genuine as you... Best,

[@llamallama1509]

Okay, just found this channel and I gotta say your content is amazing!

[@dwaynezilla]

Water's so weird, great idea for a topic! And the density and hydrogen bond explanations are done very nicely. Simple and to-the-point while still being really clear.

[@SouthAfricanCannabisExtraction]

This video along with this channel is so EPIC! Amazing content!

[@jc789852]

Yup im definitely convinced after that rant, you're so right. Great video!

[@elinope4745]

Every once in a while, KZbin actually recommends me something that I would be interested in. Subbed.

[@metamorphiczeolite]

Excellent bonus rant! And excellent content otherwise. Thanks, ACS!

[@AdleisioCefnforDolphin]

I feel like the dinosaur pee thing was started to kind of get people on the whole homeopathy medicine side of things to really think about how silly their logic is when it comes to water having a "memory" of the other chemicals it was in with. Literally paying 5 dollars for 5mL of water without even a molecule of the supposed medication in it, seriously.

[@gregeconomeier1476]

Good rant. No need to apologize, sometimes people just need mistakes and get over it.

[@jeffgustafson2131]

I love this! I did my master’s research simulating liquid water’s dynamic structure from DFT ab initio molecular dynamics! Totally fascinating! I could talk for ages about why water is one of my favorite molecules and materials

[@Anaesify]

Really really cool! I always hear about how water is so weird but this really gave me insights into whyyyy its so werid!

[@AlexDainisPhD]

I'm so glad! It's soooooo weird but also so cool!!

[@brent9616]

Love the enthusiasm of this one!

[@holidasa]

Great video! I’d not heard of the “dinosaur urine”, um, nonsense before. I love how it ended: “…it just isn’t! It’s not how any of this works”.

[@reynoldichi1090]

Thank you teacher.

[@Eyerleth]

A heated debate in the study of water? I hope they don't get too steamed up.

[@afborro]

Thinking as my head is spinning. If one were to have LDL and HDL pockets, this should have an effect on optical properties such as refractive index. I guess that would make for some interesting computation in theoretical chemistry. Never knew about it. fascinating stuff.

[@brandonkelley6500]

I was totally expecting the allegedly constant shifting between H3O+ and OH-. I wonder if that plays a role in the duel density hypothesis?

[@AlexDainisPhD]

This was another part we just had to cut for time, but the scientists who used the Megaelectronvolt Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Instrument also investigated exactly this: they hit the water with ionizing radiation, and saw that when some water molecules broke apart, there was a short lived, OH(H3O+) radical cation complex that formed within 140 femtoseconds: basically, for a tiny, tiny fraction of a second, a water molecule crashed apart and came together with another to form H3O+ and OH-!

[@user-uu7sk8bz5l]

Excellent vedio and wonderful explained .Excellent excellent 💓💓💓💓🌷🌷🌷

[@JOpethNYC]

Great video. 👨‍🔬

[@oldmanspooky6641]

Best video ever , makes me wanna run off and get my bio-chem degree.

[@mikebauer6917]

Another key water density property is that water vapor is much less dense than dry air (N2, O2) in our atmosphere. Basically, humid air floats. Condensed water (clouds) however sink.

[@Phootaba]

I like this rant, may I copy it? 😁

[@FernandoJRodriguezFernandoJRM]

The final rant was one of the best parts of the video.

[@AlexDainisPhD]

I am glad you enjoyed it :)

[@AimeePlaysMSM]

uh oh! I hope "The Art of Blowing Stuff Up" gets un-privated or re-uploaded with corrections(?) soon! Brisance! :D

[@marcochimio]

Wonderful presentation. Just one minor correction that, unfortunately, requires a bit of explanation: While even today, 99% of biology textbooks still get this wrong, it's been known for over 40 years that hydrogen bonds are not the predominant force holding two strands of DNA together. Yes, they help line up complementary bases between two strands, BUT they barely contribute at all (or even negatively) to the overall energy holding two strands of DNA together. Consider the fact that when you denature DNA (split apart the strands), the single DNA strands make perfectly good NEW hydrogen bonds with lots of water molecules instead, so the energy gain from hydrogen bonds within a double stranded DNA is negligible. Instead, the bulk of the energy holding the strands together (about 2/3) is from something called "base stacking." This is where adjacent bases on the SAME strand of DNA are lined up, but only correctly lined up when the strands are in DOUBLE-stranded DNA form. The "pi-electrons" (i.e., the electrons involved in the "second bond" of double bonds) from each base stack on top of each other, overlapping in a favorable way, which provides stabilizing energy to hold the strands in that position. G's next to G's give the best stacking interaction, which explains while high G-C content in DNA is associated with high temperatures needed to denature the strands (and not due to the commonly held misconception that it's because G-C interactions involve 3 hydrogens bonds, while A-T interactions only have 2 hydrogen bonds between them). There are several other factors involved in double stranded DNA formation and denaturation, including the bonus favorable entropy due to the release of those formerly hydrogen bonded waters I mentioned earlier whenever two strands come together and exclude those waters. Of course, that means that you simultaneously have unfavorable loss of entropy because two unordered DNA strands come together to form the more order double-stranded "double helix" of DNA. It's all very complicated (more than I've described), but you probably knew that already.

[@jamesdavison6654]

You are awesome 👌

[@------country-boy-------]

Hydrogen bonding is a big part of geopolymer chemistry. Adding or subtracting protons to water changes the pH (hydronium or hydroxyl). Electrostatically charged molecules (finely crushed feldspar) in alkaline water recombine in a self assembly reaction and the byproduct is water. Many researchers use dehydroxylated kaolin clay but our research shows that freshly crushed quartz and feldspars work much better. We had a major breakthrough after understanding and applying the concept: molecules suspended in water have an "isoelectric point" and learning that when silicon dioxide molecules are mechanically sperated - one side keeps the electron and the other looses it making "reactive silica". The synthetic feldspar that is formed in the reaction is better than regular Portland cement in every way. Regular cement has a reaction of crystal growth called "hydration". Some of the water mixed in cement becomes part of the cement (water of crystalization) and for this reason regular cement is not fireproof. Geopolymer is different and more closely resembles porcelain so it is fire proof. I want to make a yt video about our research soon. Sorry for this long comment 🤭.

[@rebanelson607]

I didn't know that! I've always thought there was more to cement than we realize. Thanks!

[@geoffrygifari3377]

That "Megaelectronvolt Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Instrument", where can i get that?

[@williamm8069]

And cocoa butter forms 6 different crystals (polymorphic) thus tempering chocolate requires patience and a precise thermometer.

[@geoffrygifari3377]

Hmm was any weird property also found in ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen fluoride (HF), nitrogen, fluorine, and oxygen being side-to-side?

[@grupotrieste493]

O marido desta incrível mulher é absurdamente sortudo!

[@lorddorker3703]

Quantum Tug sounds like behavior seen in Meta Materials.

[@kiedto]

Great video, my brain exploded from hearing about the coolness of water, and that is a great REACTION

[@AlexDainisPhD]

I'm always out here trying to make brains explode! So glad you liked it :)

[@lexer_]

Thank god you looked the name pronounciation of Roentgen up. I would never have made the connection to him otherwise just from hearing the name.

[@jonathanpena5972]

That last point is true, but it leaves an important detail out. Yes, it is on the atomic scale that your water, or at least parts of it, was dinosaur pee. Furthermore, if this is the atomic case we're fighting for, parts of you and I were also, at one point, probably, maybe, God I hope not, dinosaur pee 😂

[@AlexDainisPhD]

Maybe, then, I should have argued that *everything* is dino pee 😅

[@ooooneeee]

Yeah she's disproving it molecularly by proving it atomically 😂.

[@sonnenklang6925]

Not to forget there are various forms of isotopes, heavy water and water with different hydrogen spins ;)

[@marxunemiku]

all of the first 5 years of highschool chemistry is just gaslighting you

[@user-bp8yg3ko1r]

Great video!

[@glenliesegang233]

Water's behavior has quantum interaction roots. (But we ignore just how weird magnetism is!) The humble hydrogen atoms have >20 electron jump levels (spectral lines) meaning protons are highly complex. The behavior of water is also based on the electron orbital structure of the oxygen atom, creating its critical bond angle. For me, this is proof an Intelligence understood the requirements of spacetime to cause quark structure and interaction to enable this.

[@thatunconsciousguy9306]

Quantum Tug is the new name for my band!

[@playgroundchooser]

Holy shiz. This was awesome! Full disclosure: I never once thought of the atom vs. molecule thing with dino pee. 👏👏 Man I feel dumb. 🤣

[@TazPessle]

Surely HDL/LDL would be expected because of Maxwell-Bolzmann curves... By random chance certain molecules or clusters will have higher energy than others allowing H-bonds in these high energy regions to break and for density to increase. [Not a scientist, but thats just my intuition].

[@SleepyAstroStation-ty3uk]

I love how brilliant she is

[@kucami1]

Silly question, did that fake facebook page ever get created? If so, could you link it here?

[@brianhiles8164]

(09:45) Oh, it´s worse than that, for the correct German pronunciation of the name Röntgen. You are 90% of the way there. Two factors, though: *+* The German /r/ sound is a “double-tap“ rolled _r,_ like in Japanese. Think of it as an “impatient“ Spanish rolled _r._ *+* The /ö/ in Röntgen (or _Roentgen_ -- “oe“ is a digraph) represents the umlauted _o,_ /ö/, which is a sound that is not in English. The Wikipedia sound file that you heard is spoken quite, _uh,_ “English-like“, probably because in different provinces of Germany there is considerable variation. I learned it as the sound one makes when one is punched in the stomach. Nope, not even kidding....

[@dheeraj3945]

I'd have thanked for the amazing info on water, if not for Wilhelm Röntgen

[@vinzzz666]

🤨 "But oddly, the lake gets warmer the farther down you go." really?

[@davidrandell2224]

A proton is a collection of 1836 expanding electrons and add a bouncing expanding electron makes a hydrogen atom. “The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy “, Mark McCutcheon. Expanding electrons do it all.

[@blablub2402]

It is funny that in English they are reffered to as hydrogen "bonds", even though they are not actual bonds and in a lot of other languages it would be false scientific terminology.

[@FernandoJRodriguezFernandoJRM]

In what language are they not called bonds? Hydrogen bonds are just one of many ways atoms can interact in ways that bring them together in well defined relative positions, covalent bonds are not the only “bonds”.

[@blablub2402]

@@FernandoJRodriguezFernandoJRM It´s not a bond they are intermolecular interactions. The same way the van der Waals force is not a bond

[@douglasboyle6544]

Rant girl Rant! Now tell us about the 14 or whatever kinds of ice there are! And I don't mean the "Inuit words for snow" I mean like what the heck is Ice IX and stuff?

[@AlexDainisPhD]

17 kinds of ice!! We had to cut that section for time, but it's super fascinating!!

[@douglasboyle6544]

@@AlexDainisPhD oh it's up to 17 now?!? Sounds like it definitely deserves its own video at some point then

[@wingtipzzz]

Wow

[@benruniko]

Water is amazing in all it’s forms!

[@jessicatymczak5852]

It is extremely complex because of the hydrogen bond. But the hydrogen bond is a simplification of a complex bonding process. We think of it as between two water molecules, but it’s much more collective. I studied this using ab init Molecular Dynamics.

[@jaewan234]

I love water. I can't live without it.

[@sally.moonce3976]

i love how she explain it like a complicated relationship xD

[@willemvandebeek]

And that's pure water... add a little salt to water and this new watery liquid starts behaving completely in a different way, it's fascinating! :)

[@adcaptandumvulgus4252]

so technically everything is dino pee, that interacts with our water. (weird)

[@user-yj5mj3gb8c]

존내 어렵네요.

[@tylerjkb9611]

4 celsius = 39.2 Fahrenheit for we stubborn americans

[@joewwilliams]

So you're saying EVERYTHING is dinosaur pee...

[@Epic-so3ek]

Wata

[@grahamflowers]

There is 1 Hydrogen atom and 2 oxygen atoms in a molecule of water always has been a always will be regards Graham Flowers

[@maybeanonymous6846]

i want to hear what r/hydrohomies think about this

[@adrianzaharia8885]

Best engineer: GOD!

[@Kabup2]

If all the hydrogen and oxygen in the water, were in the pee, then you can say that glass of water was dinosaur pee? It seems right to me.

[@grahamflowers]

There is 1 Hydrogen atom and 2 Oxygen atoms in a molecule of water always has been and always will be regards Graham Flowers MEng

[@Epic-so3ek]

Your videos are so damn hard to find cause of the name of your channel lol

[@ACSReactions]

Yeah, we noticed that too. If you search "ACS Reactions" it tends to work better. Or if you subscribe then you don't have to search.

[@Epic-so3ek]

@@ACSReactionsoh I’m already subscribed, the problem is finding this individual video. Did not expect you to respond! 😂 ACS reactions it is ._.

[@alarcon99]

yeah right! water is not dinosaur pee. Next you're going to say water doesn't have a memory

[@cameronidk2]

I don't always listen to female scientist, but when I do it's usually because of some rant about how normies are totally getting some thing wrong and it bothers them greatly. So we have that for common ground "Normies Bother us greatly". If your a scientist that isn't bothered by people screwing up your work ... or bothered when other scientists do.. your not my Kind of people

[@ethanplays8005]

I was the 1000th and 100th person like and comment on this video

[@__-oe6wn]

It is still the pee of Dianasooor !

[@m10538]

Keep this host, PBS, she's clear and understandable. A different PBS channel has what sounds like a 10 year old narrating which is really distracting. If Matt O'Dowd retires from Space Time she's my pick for his replacement!

[@skybluskyblueify]

So we're still learning about The Shape of Water? My Chemical Romance?

[@dragonskunkstudio7582]

We can say we are all drinking water that was once in someone else's blatter.

[@fereyfazil2298]

I beg you for a successful teaching, do dance with the water melody.

[@angga2oioi]

Huh ? I thought chemistry is complete?

[@UpstateAlgaeLaboratory]

Oh no, this videos is just going to feed the water denier's conspiracy theories. 🤣

[@musicloverchicago437]

I really hate cutesy science videos.

[@deimsmig]

And you still used hydrogen bonds as means to explaining things most of the time. So, dont underestimate their importance I guess

[@smnoumanib]

Woho i love you! what are you, such a wonderful way of expressing !! Be blessed i will follow you forever till you marry me :)

[@NoxmilesDe]

I learned that in school 🤨

[@xaverbirrer3793]

You don‘t actually know what I know

[@BattleBunny1979]

yeh pretty insulting title hehe

[@ACSReactions]

You don't actually know what we actually know about what you don't actually know.

[@xaverbirrer3793]

@@ACSReactions Hahaha...alrite, I give up :-)

[@avhuf]

Even with wikipedia your pronunciation of Röntgen is far off........

[@gerardcousineau3478]

Water is just another phenomena that shows how great is God.

[@PeterPete]

what's weird about this video is that none of what the presenter mentions in the video regarding hydrogen bonds, molecules etc can be proven to be true! It is for this very reason why i consider water to not be made of hydrogen and oxygen!! Water in my understanding is a natural element that cannot be created nor detsroyed, merely having the ability to change from one form to another ie solid to liquid to gas!!

[@JimSmithInChiapas]

Hello again, you arrested-development adolescent class clowns! Have you still not managed to find any pilots whom you could ask about your "opinion" that jet engines don't need to burn any fuel to maintain an aircraft's altitude and airspeed?

[@DogsaladSalad]

Bla bla bla whatever its just dinosaur pee anyhow

[@Dr.Weed8]

When you smash ice why doesn’t it have the same piezoelectric effect like smashing a quartz crystal?