Water

Name:
Water
Detailed information:

M Formula:	H2O or HOH
Properties:
Colorless liquid; odorless; tasteless. Allotropic forms are ice (solid) and steam (vapor). Water is a polar liquid with high dielectric constant (81 at 17C), which largely accounts for its solvent power. It is a weak electrolyte, ionizing as H3O+ and OH−. At atmospheric pressure it has d 1.00 (4C), fp 0C (32F), and expands about 10% on freezing. Viscosity 0.010019 poise (20C), sp heat 1 cal/g, vap press 760 mm Hg (100C), triple p 273.16K (4.6 mm), surface tension 73 dynes/cm (20C), latent heat of fusion (ice) 80 cal/g, latent heat of condensation (steam) 540 cal/g, bulk d 8.337 lb/gal, 62.3/lb/cu ft, refr index 1.333. Water may be superheated by enclosing in an autoclave and increasing pressure; it may be supercooled by adding sodium chloride or other ionizing compound. It has definite catalytic activity, especially of metal oxidation. Physiologically water is classed as a nutrient substance.
Derivation:
(1) Oxidation of hydrogen; (2) end product of combustion; (3) end product of acid-base reaction; (4) end product of condensation reaction. Purification: (1) Distillation; (2) ion exchange reaction (zeolite); (3) chlorination; (4) filtration.
Use:
Suspending agent (papermaking, coal slurries), solvent (extraction, scrubbing), diluent, beer and carbonated beverages, hydration of lime, paper coatings, textile processing, moderator in nuclear reactors, debarking logs, industrial coolant, filtration, washing and scouring, sulfur mining, hydrolysis, Portland cement, hydraulic systems, power source, steam generation, food industry, source of hydrogen by electrolysis and thermochemical decomposition.

See Hydrogen; Ice; Steam; Heavy Water; Ocean Water; Water, Hard.