Water: The Elixir of Life
Journal Title: The International Journal of Frontier Sciences - Year 2019, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
Water is a chemical compound made up of two elements, Hydrogen gas, which is combustible and Oxygen gas, which causes to burn. But the union of two atoms of Hydrogen and one atom of Oxygen results in a colourless and odourless liquid, known as water, which extinguish fire. On this planet earth water is one of the most plentiful compound that exist as solid, liquid and gaseous state. In nature it also occurs as snow, ice packs, icebergs, glaciers, fog, dew, clouds, aquifers and atmospheric humidity, but on room temperature it is liquid that has the property to dissolve many other substances, which makes it a universal solvent. Water is essential to all micro and macro living beings, whether plants or animals. Life, it is believed, originated in aqueous solution. In human beings, water constitutes circa 60% of the body fluids and is essential for all biological processes, e.g., aqueous solution of blood and digestive juices. Though its molecule - H2O - is simple in structure but its physical and chemical properties are quite complicated and unique, not found in other substances in our environment, e.g., solid state of a compound is denser than its liquid state that sink, yet ice floats in water. This phenomenon is very important for the survival of aquatic life in a frozen lake where the ice, instead of sinking, floats on the surface and act as a barrier for the aquatic life below, which overwinter the harsh cold season. Water, under normal climatic environment, occurs as liquid, which makes it a suitable habitat for millions of plants and animal life, as well as a mode of transportation for living organism. During hot weather it readily changes to vapours, rises up and moves in the atmosphere from place to place as cloud. On condensation it falls as rain. This is known as hydrologic cycle that is so vital for the nourishment of the living being on earth. Water has played a pivotal role in the religious and philosophical cultures of mankind. It was regarded as the building block of matter by the Greeks in the 6th century BCE. Aristotle, in the 4th century BCE, named water along with air, fire and earth as the main elements. This notion persisted up to second half of the 18th century CE, when it was found that water is a compound of two elements – Hydrogen and Oxygen.
Authors and Affiliations
Muhammad Aslamkhan
Keywords
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