Why is water one of the strangest substances in the universe?

Water is one of the strongest substances in the universe, and many people would be surprised by this because from a human perspective it seems perfectly normal that we have plenty of it.

But imagine all the strange things about the universe that we are going to figure out in the future! From a human perspective, water is boring compared to the strange scientific phenomena that have yet to be discovered! Nonetheless, HO is indeed a strange molecule. Maybe if we ever make contact and talk to intelligent aliens and explain to them our abundant water supply, they will say, "Gee, what the heck!"

Here are some explanations as to why water is such a strange molecule.

When water freezes, the space between its molecules expands, causing it to float in a liquid state. Water is the only natural substance known to have this property. Think about it, why would a solid substance float on top of a liquid? Normally, when a substance freezes, its molecules contract more tightly, rather than expand. This anomaly has shaped the Earth we see today. Liquid water seeps into boulders, and when it freezes, it has enough force to break it down. Over time, rock erosion is a powerful force and the primary source of the surface soil we take for granted.

The high surface tension of liquid water allows some small animals, such as insects, to pass through its surface. These animals do not fall into the depths because the surface tension of water is enormous relative to other liquids.

The adhesive and cohesive nature of water. It is inferred from #2 that water has an incredible ability to stick to itself and that creatures on Earth have evolved to take advantage of it. Water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, from which it derives its chemical name H2O. These two hydrogen atoms are attracted to the oxygen atom surrounding the water molecule. Because of this, water can fundamentally defy natural gravity. For example, the water in our blood allows nutrients and oxygen to flow through all the smallest blood vessels. By a similar method, water gushes out of the soil and reaches the tops of all living plants. Without this phenomenon, radiators, pipes, irrigation systems, and plumbing would not be so efficient.

Water is the universal solvent. It not only sticks to itself, but it sticks to and dissolves everything it touches. Water is such a good solvent that it is almost impossible to get a 100 percent pure sample in the laboratory. At least, it partially dissolves everything it touches. Ordinary salt, consisting of sodium chloride crystals, can dissolve easily in water due to the hydrogen bonds that pull the sodium and chlorine atoms out of the crystals and allow them to float freely in the liquid. Almost all known chemical and mineral compounds dissolve in water to a certain extent. Because of this, water is one of the most reactive and corrosive chemicals we know of.

As we know, water is also quite important to live. This is because water dissolves multiple types of nutrients and other elements, which are then carried into our bodies. The basic molecules of life - DNA, proteins, and the molecules that make up cell membranes, etc. -would not function without water. Evolution has shaped these complex molecules so that one part is hydrophilic and can mix easily with water, and the other part is hydrophobic and will avoid water. The billions of protein molecules in your body can only do their job if they fold into the right shape because their interactions with water drive them into the correct three-dimensional format.

Without water, life would not exist. We have exactly one example of a planet on which life exists, and that is Earth. The vastness of the universe also leads us to believe that planets with abundant liquid water must be particularly rare. But perhaps in the future, we will find other planets with similar amounts of liquid water. Maybe then we will realize that, as strange as water is, it is not as unusual in the universe as we think it is today.

Steve mentions some of the main points, but there are two lesser known, but important, properties.

The dramatic change in the electrical conductivity of water. You always hear that water is a good conductor, but not if it's distilled water. Even more damaging is distilled demonized water. By multiples of thousands of times. What this means for life, I think, is that organic chemistry, which is highly dependent on ionic potential, would not work if the conductivity of water were not so omnipotent usefulness.

Steam is thinner than dry air. This would only make possible the weather we know. If water vapor is heavier than dry air, then the only fog would be on the oceans. This would be disastrous for the water cycle on Earth, with little movement of wet air masses to the continents and therefore no weathering (which brings all the useful nutrients to the oceans, including but not just salt) and therefore no life on land (and probably no life on the oceans due to lack of weathering).

I will add a third point that relates to the well-known fact that water is less dense than water. This is said to not kill life in the river. It also means that it prevents the heat of the water from being released into the atmosphere. This is very important in the snowball Earth hypothesis. The ice cap is lighter than water, preventing the ocean from freezing completely, and effectively insulating it.