
Things We Still Don’t Know About Water - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/25/water/five-things-we-still-dont-know-about-water
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stephengillie
> Yes, water is common—in fact, it is the third most common molecule in the
> universe.

What are the first 2 most common molecules? H2 and O2?

In another thread on HN this morning, we learned that Hydrogen, Helium, &
Oxygen are the 3 most common elements in the universe. To tangent off a
different commenter's remark, the 1st and 3rd most common elements in the
universe create the 3rd most common molecule.

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marcosdumay
Probably H2 and He.

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stephengillie
But Helium doesn't form into diatomic molecules. The binding energy isn't
there.

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crusso
You can have a one atom molecule, depending upon which definition you look at.

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burkaman
I have never seen that definition and I can't find it online anywhere.
Wikipedia gives 6 pretty solid looking references for the "two or more atoms"
definition.

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bonobo
The same Wikipedia page on molecules that says they have "two or more atoms
held together" also says this in the next paragraph:

 _In the kinetic theory of gases, the term molecule is often used for any
gaseous particle regardless of its composition. According to this definition,
noble gas atoms are considered molecules despite being composed of a single
non-bonded atom._

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burkaman
Well, my bad, should have read farther.

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suvelx
[http://i.imgur.com/avm58fO.png](http://i.imgur.com/avm58fO.png)

Am I going crazy, or is there no red in that?

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kbrosnan
Your browser may have a bad ICC profile. See
[http://www.color.org/version4html.xalter](http://www.color.org/version4html.xalter)
and [http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/png-
colortest.html](http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/png-colortest.html)

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simoncion
I'm almost positive that the linked PNG has no attached color profile. There
are _many_ browser color correction problems; _this_ is an image authoring
problem.

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Gustomaximus
Another interesting one about water that is unknown, or at least not proven
(many credible theories). Why does hot water freeze faster than cold water.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect)

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Retric
There seem to be a lot of 'minor' effects. However, the most convincing
argument I have seen was simply increased thermal conductivity by partially
melting the surface below the container. A good test of this would be to start
with a warm container and then add hot or cold water to it.

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known
Brilliant analysis

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vmorgulis
About water and its properties, there is also what Luc Montagner says
concerning DNA and homeopathy.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Montagnier#Research_on_elec...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Montagnier#Research_on_electromagnetic_signals_from_DNA)

There would be unknown "waves". He gets the Nobel Prize for the discovery of
AIDS.

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stefantalpalaru
Extraordinary claims without proofs.

