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The puzzling unsolved mysteries of liquid water: Some recent progress

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  • Stanley, H.E.
  • Kumar, P.
  • Xu, L.
  • Yan, Z.
  • Mazza, M.G.
  • Buldyrev, S.V.
  • Chen, S.-H.
  • Mallamace, F.

Abstract

Water is perhaps the most ubiquitous, and the most essential, of any molecule on earth. Indeed, it defies the imagination of even the most creative science fiction writer to picture what life would be like without water. Despite decades of research, however, water's puzzling properties are not understood and 63 anomalies that distinguish water from other liquids remain unsolved. We introduce some of these unsolved mysteries, and demonstrate recent progress in solving them. We present evidence from experiments and computer simulations supporting the hypothesis that water displays a special transition point (which is not unlike the “tipping point” immortalized by Malcolm Gladwell). The general idea is that when the liquid is near this “tipping point,” it suddenly separates into two distinct liquid phases. This concept of a new critical point is finding application to other liquids as well as water, such as silicon and silica. We also discuss related puzzles, such as the mysterious behavior of water near a protein.

Suggested Citation

  • Stanley, H.E. & Kumar, P. & Xu, L. & Yan, Z. & Mazza, M.G. & Buldyrev, S.V. & Chen, S.-H. & Mallamace, F., 2007. "The puzzling unsolved mysteries of liquid water: Some recent progress," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 386(2), pages 729-743.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:386:y:2007:i:2:p:729-743
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2007.07.044
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Osamu Mishima & H. Eugene Stanley, 1998. "Decompression-induced melting of ice IV and the liquid–liquid transition in water," Nature, Nature, vol. 392(6672), pages 164-168, March.
    2. Starr, Francis W. & Angell, C.Austen & Stanley, H.Eugene, 2003. "Prediction of entropy and dynamic properties of water below the homogeneous nucleation temperature," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 323(C), pages 51-66.
    3. Osamu Mishima & H. Eugene Stanley, 1998. "The relationship between liquid, supercooled and glassy water," Nature, Nature, vol. 396(6709), pages 329-335, November.
    4. Uri Raviv & Pierre Laurat & Jacob Klein, 2001. "Fluidity of water confined to subnanometre films," Nature, Nature, vol. 413(6851), pages 51-54, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Stepišnik, Janez & Mattea, Carlos & Stapf, Siegfried & Mohorič, Aleš, 2020. "Molecular velocity auto-correlations in glycerol/water mixtures studied by NMR MGSE method," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 553(C).

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