Water

During the 1990s a futuristic type movie was released entitled Water World. Somehow the earth's surface had been almost completely covered by the ocean. Cities were buried beneath miles of water. Human beings lived on boats, rafts, and small floating towns. Regular old dirt was of high value.

Some people dreamed of finding dry land; the last place on earth where people could walk on the ground. Many people believed it was just a wistful legend. The movie's main character played by Kevin Costner was a mutant; he had been born with gills and webbed feet. He could breathe above and below the water. It's another topic but it's ridiculous to think that a completely submerged earth would trigger a series of mutations that eventually produced a water breathing human being. As I said, that's another topic.

We already live on "water world." Not only is 75% of the earth's surface covered by it but every living organism on it is composed of at least 50% water; about 67% for us humans. Ours is the only planet in the Universe known to contain water. Our satellites, unmanned landers, and telescopes are programmed to look for water, and other things, on other planets. Why?

Because if water is found on other planets; it would lend credence to the possibility of life on other planets. Water is life's essential liquid; at least the only life that we know. We humans die if we lose just 8% of our body water which would take only 3-4 days without water.

Have you ever donned a scuba mask and then submerged into the crystal clear water of a clean swimming pool or beautiful ocean coral reef? There's nothing more magical than snorkeling or scuba diving in clear water. In some places you can board a submarine that transports you through the silent and beautiful world of the ocean.

Grasp a bottle of pure water in your hand and swirl the water by rotating the bottle. Stop and let it settle once again. Look at the meniscus, the curved surface of the water. Allow a ray of light to shine through the bottle; see the color spectrum. What is this wonder substance we call water?

Nearly everyone knows water by its elemental nomenclature; H2O, two hydrogen atoms each with a single positive charge combined with one oxygen atom which contains a double negative charge. Two positive charges plus two negative charges produces a neutral stable charge for the complete water molecule.

H2O is the most abundant molecule on earth yet only 1% of it is usable by humans in its natural form. It's the only substance that's found in nature in all three of the states of matter; liquid, gas and solid. Water also dissolves more substances than any of substance. (After 20 hours of chemistry in college that's about all I remember).

Water has many properties that are vital to the survival of our bodies. Let's examine some of those properties.

1. Water cools the surface of our body: Water cools when it goes from a liquid to a gas (evaporation). Sweat (water) evaporation continual occurs on the surface of our skin and therefore cools our body and helps maintain the body's critical temperature.

2. Water carries substances in our body. Remember water dissolves many substances? There are of course substances that don't dissolve in water. Have you ever seen gasoline or oil floating on water? Those don't dissolve in water. We have in our bodies substances that contain important nutrients. Those also don't dissolve in water and are therefore able to be transported by water in our bodies.

3. Water metabolizes or helps convert energy sources into energy. For example the proteins in the food we ingest are converted in energy. You've heard it before and it's true. Our body is like a machine, it needs fuel to operate and that fuel must be converted into usable energy in order to perform work (After 10 hours of thermodynamics that's all I remember). Water aids in our metabolism.

4. Water maintains our internal body temperature. Water has a high specific heat. Specific heat is a measure of how much energy it requires to raise the temperature of a substance. Water has a high specific heat compared to other substances and therefore a lot of energy has to be expended in order to raise (or lower) our body temperature.

5. Water cushions and lubricates various structures within our body. Ever hear someone say they tore cartilage in a knee? That usually refers to a meniscus tear. Yes, we've run across that term before; meniscus is the name given to the curved top surface of water inside a glass or bottle. The meniscus inside the knee is a cartilaginous curved structure that cushions or distributes weight loads on the knee. Guess what, 70% of the meniscus is water.

All substances are amazing but water surely stands in a league of its own. After decades of study and hypothesizing by scientists, the origin of earth's water is still largely a mystery (To them).

Water, it's what's for living!

References:

NASA

USGS

Brad Cummings,The Fingerprints of God