Water: fascinating in all its phases, forms and states of aggregation. Without it, life as we know it would not exist on Earth, for as Paracelsus stated in the 16th century: “water is the matrix of the world and of all its creatures”. While it may appear to be a simple molecule, there is still much about it which is not fully understood. What is notably lacking is a microscopically-based understanding of the reasons for the many anomalous properties of water. This book presents lectures from the Enrico Fermi summer school ‘Water: fundamentals as the basis for understanding the environment and promoting technology’ held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2013. The aim of the school was to offer a glimpse of the many questions that remain unanswered about this molecule, and topics covered included: water in relation to other liquids, biological water, local environment of water protons, atmospheric water, amorphous solid phases of water, NMR studies of water, spectroscopic studies of water, the structure of liquid water, and supercooled water, among others. While this list is by no means exhaustive or complete, it is wide enough to provide a solid basis to young researchers in the field, and the book will be a valuable source of reference for students and all those with an interest in the properties of this fascinating substance.

Water: fascinating in all its phases, forms and states of aggregation. Without it, life as we know it would not exist on Earth, for as Paracelsus stated in the 16th century: "water is the matrix of the world and of all its creatures". While it may appear to be a simple molecule, there is still much about it which is not fully understood. What is notably lacking is a microscopically-based understanding of the reasons for the many anomalous properties of water.This book presents lectures from the Enrico Fermi summer school 'Water: fundamentals as the basis for understanding the environment and promoting technology' held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2013. The aim of the school was to offer a glimpse of the many questions that remain unanswered about this molecule, and topics covered included: water in relation to other liquids, biological water, local environment of water protons, atmospheric water, amorphous solid phases of water, NMR studies of water, spectroscopic studies of water, the structure of liquid water, and supercooled water, among others. While this list is by no means exhaustive or complete, it is wide enough to provide a solid basis to young researchers in the field, and the book will be a valuable source of reference for students and all those with an interest in the properties of this fascinating substance.

This book features the latest advances and future trends in water science and technology. It also discusses the scientific popularization and quantitative resolution of a variety of mysterious properties of water and ice from the perspective of hydrogen-bond cooperativity in response to stimuli such as chemical contamination, electrification, magnetification, mechanical compression, molecular undercoordination, and thermal excitation. Anomalies include the floating of ice, the Hofmeister effect in solutions, regelation of ice, slipperiness of ice, water’s tough skin, the Mpemba paradox, and the floating bridge. It also addresses the superfluidity of microchannels, hydrogen bond potentials, nanodroplet and bubble thermodynamics, quasisolidity and supersolidity, controlling superhydrophobicity–superhydrophilicity transition, and high-pressure ice formation. The target audience for this book includes students, senior scholars, engineers and practitioners in the area of physical chemistry, biology, as well as aqueous and colloid solutions.

The story of the most abundant substance on Earth, from its origins in the birth of stars billions of years ago to its importance in the living world. Water is so ubiquitous in our lives that it is easy to take for granted. The average American uses ninety gallons of water a day; nearly every liquid we encounter is mostly water--milk, for example, is 87 percent water. Clouds and ice--water in other forms--affect our climate. Water is the most abundant substance on Earth, and the third-most abundant molecule in the universe. In this lavishly illustrated volume, science writer Jack Challoner tells the story of water, from its origins in the birth of stars to its importance in the living world. Water is perhaps the most studied compound in the universe--although mysteries about it remain--and Challoner describes how thinkers from ancient times have approached the subject. He offers a detailed and fascinating look at the structure and behavior of water molecules, explores the physics of water--explaining, among other things, why ice is slippery--and examines the chemistry of water. He investigates photosynthesis and water's role in evolutionary history, and discusses water and weather, reviewing topics that range from snowflake science to climate change. Finally, he considers the possibility of water beyond our own hydrosphere--on other planets, on the Moon, in interstellar space.

This book addresses the growing interest in low temperature technologies. Since the subject of low temperature materials and mechanisms is multidisciplinary, the chapters reflect the broadest possible perspective of the field. Leading experts in the specific subject area address the various related science and engineering chemistry, material science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and physics.

Encyclopedia of Ecology, Second Edition, Four Volume Set continues the acclaimed work of the previous edition published in 2008. It covers all scales of biological organization, from organisms, to populations, to communities and ecosystems. Laboratory, field, simulation modelling, and theoretical approaches are presented to show how living systems sustain structure and function in space and time. New areas of focus include micro- and macro scales, molecular and genetic ecology, and global ecology (e.g., climate change, earth transformations, ecosystem services, and the food-water-energy nexus) are included. In addition, new, international experts in ecology contribute on a variety of topics. Offers the most broad-ranging and comprehensive resource available in the field of ecology Provides foundational content and suggests further reading Incorporates the expertise of over 500 outstanding investigators in the field of ecology, including top young scientists with both research and teaching experience Includes multimedia resources, such as an Interactive Map Viewer and links to a CSDMS (Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System), an open-source platform for modelers to share and link models dealing with earth system processes