Flickering cluster model structure

Figure 1.5. (a) Hydrogen-bonded open tetrahedral structure of ice (Gray, 1973). (b) Frank-Wen flickering cluster model of liquid water (Nemethy and Scheraga, 1962). 

With reference to Figure 11.5 showing the involvement of a given water molecule in the liquid, write a short paragraph describing what is meant by the phrase flickering cluster model as applied to the structure of liquid water. 

Of the many hypotheses of the structure of liquid water, that ofPople (1951), as modified by Sceats, Stavola and Rice (1979), agrees very well with all experimentally determined properties. In this model, water is formulated as a continuous polymer in which H2O units are united by a network of hydrogen bonds that extend throughout the whole liquid which becomes, in this sense, one large molecule. This formulation is compatible with all recorded physical properties. No support remains for older ideas of flickering clusters , icebergs , monomeric inclusions , or other types of discontinuity. 

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