Martyn Fletcher. Water Droplets on Glass. Flickr.com, Sept 17, 2016
Water: a very versatile molecule
In clouds, vapor, lakes, oceans, and almost every object around us.
Water is everywhere. Understanding this small molecule (and its hydrogen bond) is challenging given its malleability and universal presence. Here are two important points:
- Water molecules connect to others through hydrogen bonds.
- A hydrogen bond is the most agile bond in the Universe. This bond is the Prima Ballerina of bonds.
It is this very limber connection that allows water to exist as steam, fog, and clouds.
Jeff P. Blue Lake Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. Flickr.com, April 22, 2011.
Ballet Dancer Vector. Kamensky. Vectorstock.com
Water has incredible hydrogen bonding properties.
One oxygen atom of H2O can bind up to four atoms of hydrogen
- two through real (covalent/more stable bonds) bonds and
- two through hydrogen bonds (more temporary bonds).
Not only that, water molecules can rotate in different planes. This means that the water molecules shown in this figure can rotate on an x, y, or z-axis.
Thomas Brueckner “Hydrogen bonds” Flickr.com, Oct 7, 2005
Between water’s multi-dimensional bonding and its ability to separate and join bonds in fractions of seconds, liquid water acts as a 4-dimensional molecule (with time adding the 4th dimension).
Of note, Hydrogen bonds have been visualized using infrared technology; the atoms seem to vibrate alongside each other).
Water’s too-many-to-count hydrogen bond connections
Because of the incessant connecting and disconnecting of water molecules to each other, water has a dual character:
- It is liquid, with the molecules holding onto each other, practically continuously.
- However, within each microcosm of water groups, there is a huge amount of movement that can only be seen when one moves toward a femtosecond timescale (A millionth of a nanosecond –> 0.000000000000001 second = 1 femtosecond).
This means at the femtosecond level, some water molecules are not connected - and then they are - and then they are not. Thus, a femto-sized ant, can easily wander through this jungle of water molecules, given their intermittent connections.
Masakazu Matsumoto. “hydrogen bond network structure of water”. Flickr.com, Aug 1, 2002
Folk dancing water molecules
It is as if each hydrogen atom is dancing between its two Oxygen atom partners in an immense (but infinitesimally small) folk dancing festival.
Imagine thousands of folk dancers twirling around at super high speed, touching hands of one dancer then another then another, each for a split second.
If the dancers wore identical costumes, one would not see the individual dancers; the folk dance festival would look like a colorful rug that is swaying one way and then another.
This is how water is: there are trillions and trillions of water molecules in one drop of water.
Even though each molecule is continuously dancing with its sister molecules in a femtosecond time-scale, the drop of water seems motionless.
Eesti.pl. “Dance Festival. Every 5 years, The Song and Dance Festival” Flickr.com, July 4, 2009.
Is there water out there?
If it is true that water is necessary – but actually not sufficient – to create life, is there evidence for water in other planetary systems?
In our own Galaxy, Saturn’s moons (for example, Titan and Enceladus) are believed to have underground water.
Titan is the largest moon orbiting Saturn. Much of the water underneath its surface is in ice form as the temperatures range in the -179ºC (-290ºF). However, in addition to this icy layer, there is evidence that there is a global ocean of water underneath the crust. This may be very salty water, with a very high density of sulfur, potassium, and sodium, just like our Dead Sea on Earth.
Forsetius “Titan vs Saturn” Flickr.com, Nov 12, 2006.
Hydrogen bonds and Health
Creating life means having bonds between atoms that are agile and adaptable.
The hydrogen bond allows life as it is the bond that is the most agile within a sea of other atoms.
Water as H2O encourages the movement of ions and molecules within living structures, allowing different elements to integrate. This mingling is due to the nimbleness of our inescapable hydrogen bond connections in nature.
Hydrogen bonds have the capacity to form incredibly nimble relationships. Such lively and fluid relationships are a necessary prerequisite for living systems.
In a shrewd association, this may also be the easiest way to think about health.
Masakazu Matsumoto. Water, hydrogen bond network structure. Flickr.com, July 10, 2008.
Agility and relationships are the names of the game for health.
Start at the molecular level, then move to cellular systems, then organ systems, then relationships with the natural world, and finally human relationships.
- No (limber and agile) hydrogen bonds = no life
- Unhealthy relationships at the molecular level = less than healthy life
It all connects.
References
- Christopher P. McKay. Titan as the Abode of Life. Life (Basel) 2016 March; 6(1): 8. (this paper makes the argument that non-H2O life forms could be manufactured in Titan’s methane lakes).
- Pollack GH1, Figueroa X, Zhao Q. Molecules, water, and radiant energy: new clues for the origin of life. Int J Mol Sci. 2009 Mar 27;10(4):1419-29.
- Nick Pace C, Scholtz JM, Grimsley GR. Forces stabilizing proteins. FEBS Lett. 2014 Jun 27;588(14):2177-84.
- Zhao L, Ma K, Yang Z. Changes of water hydrogen bond network with different externalities. Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Apr 15;16(4):8454-89.
- Ishikita H, Saito K. Proton transfer reactions and hydrogen-bond networks in protein environments. J R Soc Interface. 2013 Nov 27;11(91):20130518.