Water Movies

Water Video No. 1 - Observe the slow crystallization of ice with time-lapse cinemicrography under polarized illumination at a magnification of 100x and a playing time of 7.4 seconds. Choose a playback format that matches your connection speed: 28.8k (modem), 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL, or download this video clip in MPEG format (3.21 MB).

At room temperature, pure water is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless liquid. When viewed through considerable depths, it has a bluish tint. Water is one of the most plentiful and essential of compounds. Until the 1780s, it was regarded as a basic element typifying all liquid substances. Scientists did not discard that view until British chemist Henry Cavendish synthesized water by detonating a mixture of hydrogen and air.

Although its chemical composition is simple, its chemical properties are complicated and unusual. Compared to analogous compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, its melting and boiling points are much higher than would be expected. In its solid form, ice, water is less dense than when it is a liquid.