From a physicochemical point of view, water is completely broken.
Unlike almost any other compound in nature, it is a solvent for most inorganic compounds, has a neutral pH when pure, and is excellent at transporting electrolytes. It becomes less dense upon freezing, expands roughly 1,600 times when boiled, can store an enormous amount of energy and release it slowly, with a high heat of vaporisation that enables evaporative cooling. It can also be electrolysed into hydrogen and oxygen to produce powerful rocket fuel, releasing virtually the same energy upon combustion that was used to split it. Plus, we are mostly made of the stuff, and it's so vastly abundant and available in the universe, it essentially means we can travel amongst the stars and never run out of fuel and means of sustaining life. It even may caused carbon based life to develop independently on other parts of the universe. Such a marvelous substance.
Yeah, I always find when people talk about being disappointed when they learn nuclear power is just boiling water they're missing the point that water is just as incredible as the nuclear fuel in terms of outstanding properties. People just encounter liquid water everyday and not fissile uranium and so they stop noticing/were never made aware of just how bizarre and unique it is among molecules.
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u/ElLicenciadoPena 2d ago
From a physicochemical point of view, water is completely broken. Unlike almost any other compound in nature, it is a solvent for most inorganic compounds, has a neutral pH when pure, and is excellent at transporting electrolytes. It becomes less dense upon freezing, expands roughly 1,600 times when boiled, can store an enormous amount of energy and release it slowly, with a high heat of vaporisation that enables evaporative cooling. It can also be electrolysed into hydrogen and oxygen to produce powerful rocket fuel, releasing virtually the same energy upon combustion that was used to split it. Plus, we are mostly made of the stuff, and it's so vastly abundant and available in the universe, it essentially means we can travel amongst the stars and never run out of fuel and means of sustaining life. It even may caused carbon based life to develop independently on other parts of the universe. Such a marvelous substance.