Polywater

The reports were that water condensed from the vapor phase into 10-100-/im quartz or pyrex capillaries had physical properties distinctly different from those of bulk liquid water. Confirmations came from a variety of laboratories around the world (see the August 1971 issue of Journal of Colloid Interface Science), and it was proposed that a new phase of water had been found many called this water polywater rather than the original Deijaguin term, anomalous water. There were confirming theoretical calculations (see Refs. 121, 122) Eventually, however, it was determined that the micro-amoimts of water that could be isolated from small capillaries was always contaminated by salts and other impurities leached from the walls. The nonexistence of anomalous or poly water as a new, pure phase of water was acknowledged in 1974 by Deijaguin and co-workers [123]. There is a mass of fascinating anecdotal history omitted here for lack of space but told very well by Frank [124]. 

These were bold and simple statements. To put them in a modern context, the discovery of triphenylmethyl combined the novelty of something like bucky balls with the controversial nature of something like polywater or cold fusion. Thus Gomberg was soon to find that the triphenylmethyl problem was attractive and complex enough to occupy him and many others for a long time. A first period lasted until about 1911 when the phenomena observed had been clarified to the satisfaction of a majority of the research community. Theoretically, little understanding was possible before the advent of the electron pair bond and, in particular, theory based on quantum mechanical concepts. This meant that the theory available... 

Pollution studies is another area where XPS showed promising results. T. Novakov 65) demonstrated the potential of XPS for air pollution studies 157), while other investigations l38) detected arsenic in soil samples. Also the polywater controversy was revealed to be in reality a pollution problem 64). 

A. M. Diamond, Jr., The polywater episode and the appraisal of theories , in Scrutinizing Science Empirical Studies of Scientific Change, ed. A. Donovan et al., Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1988, pp. 181-198. 

Then the popular media took an interest. They turned a simmering scientific curiosity into a boiling concern. Polywater apparently had a powerful capacity for hydrogen bonding. What if it escaped from a laboratory There were dire predictions that polywater would take over Earth s water resources. The imagined consequences for life on Earth were grim. 

Eventually further studies revealed that polywater was simply a concentrated solution of silicon (silicic acid) and several ionic compounds in ordinary water. The glass tubing was the source of these solutes. They had leached into the water. 

The polywater event occurred because scientists overlooked, for awhile, water s remarkable power as a solvent. In this chapter, you will learn how to predict which compounds are soluble in water. As well, you will consider how chemical reactions in aqueous (water) solutions are useful in industry and in protecting the quality of our water supplies. 

However, experimental studies soon showed that in the original case and apparently in all similar ones, as well as more complicated ones,14 no such bond stretch isomers exist. The isomer(s) with the longer bond are simply the normal (short- bonded) molecule co-crystallized with an impurity so that at some crystal sites a M—Cl bond occurs where there would be an M=0 bond in the pure oxo compound. The refinement of X-ray data from such a mixed crystal leads to the appearance of a longer M=0 bond. Also, the contamination of a blue compound by a yellow impurity gives the appearance that there is a green compound. From the theoretical side the concept seems counter-intuitive (reminiscent of polywater ) and, indeed, a high-quality molecular quantum study15 failed to confirm the earlier theoretical support. 

The amusing story of polywater, which excited the scientific community for a few years during the late 1960 s and early 1970 s, has been reviewed by Franks [175]. It turned out that polywater was not a new and more stable form of pure water, but merely dirty water. The strange properties of polywater were due to high concentrations of siliceous material dissolved from quartz capillaries in which it was produced. 

Because of the close relationship to the mineral particles in the sediment, interlamellar water is usually of types (2) and (3). A special type of water, so-called "polywater" or "superwater", which has been reviewed and considered by Kamb (1971) and Henniker (1949), is a modification of water solution, as a result of impurities in a water solution. It is an interesting phenomenon, provided such solutions occur in nature. "Polywater" has been observed to have a density of about 1.4g/cm and a viscosity about 15 times greater than normal water. Capillaries with "polywater" might be expected in a finegrained sediment (Low and White, 1970) with a considerable amount of clay mineral particles like mud. The significance of the various t3q es of water in sediments must not be underestimated, as they may influence other processes taking place in the aqueous phase. 

Low, P. F. and J. L. White (1970). Hydrogen bonding and polywater in day-water systems. Clays and Clay Minerals 18, 63-66. 

All of these are part of the internal code of practice of science. As noted above, it is essential for scientists to report data completely and to interpret them objectively. One of the subtle ethical dangers in scientific practice is self-deception, misinterpreting, or overinterpreting data to meet prior expectations. The history of science is filled with examples of self-deception N-rays and polywater are two of the most famous. Maxims 1, 3, and 4 above speak directly to this danger. Maxim 2 is more directly related to Merton s principle of organized skepticism. It is essential that scientists tell each other the truth, as they see it, even if it means challenging a well-established idea. 

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