The Fourth Phase of Water Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor
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4 1 3 2 “The most significant scientific discovery of this century.” “The most interesting science book I’ve ever read. It has shown me that it’s still possible to establish something genuinely new in science.” Zhiliang Gong, University of Chicago. “The most significant scientific discovery of this century. What strikes me above all is the elegant simplicity of [Pollack’s] experimental approach. Many of the experiments can be done on the kitchen table, and you don’t even need a microscope to see the results.” Mae-Wan Ho, Author, Living Rainbow H2O; Director, Institute of Science and Society, London. “Dr. Pollack is one of the pioneers in this field, and his discoveries can be expected to have important implications.” Brian Josephson, Nobel Laureate, Cambridge University. “Fantastic material with revolutionary insights. What impresses me most is that the experiments are visually instantly accessible.” Helmut Roniger, Consulting physician “I blame Pollack for my chronic loss of sleep during the past week. Devouring his book has inspired in me a whole new burst of enthusiasm for science.” Jason Gillen, Massage therapist, Sydney Australia. “The most original thinker I have ever met.” Csaba Galambos, University of Colorado “Einstein has got nothing on Pollack. Pollack has the uncanny ability to pinpoint the right questions and grasp the simple ideas.” Capt. T.C. Randall, Author, Forbidden Healing “This is like getting new glasses! The clarity is astounding.” Charles Cushing, Independent Scientist “Unputdownable.” Nigel Dyer, University of Warwick, UK. “As good a page-turner as a Dan Brown novel. … this book has a folksy style that I know will be very popular.” David Anick, Harvard University “By Chapter 5 I was spellbound. By the end I was so captivated by the implications that I wished I could begin again in science and follow the new path this work has shaped.” Kathryn Devereaux, Science writer, UC Davis With balance and grace, Pollack seems to have come closest to presenting a ‘unified field’ vision of matter through the lens of water.” John Fellows, Independent Scientist “This amazing book has changed my understanding of all the processes going on in water which I was confident I knew about — the understanding that dictated my many years of teaching and organized my research. I must now come to terms with the demonstration that water is not just a medium in which physics and chemistry happen, but a machine that powers and manages physics and chemistry.” Martin Canny, Australian National University “Brilliant! Read the last chapter first.” Molly McGee, University of Washington Ever wonder… wonder… What mysteries lurk in the depths of a glass of water? What makes the wispy clouds of vapor rising from your cupcup ofof hothot coffee?coffee? OrOr thethe puffypuffy whitewhite cloudsclouds hoveringthat hover inin thethe sky?sky? WhyWhy dodo thethe bubblesbubbles inin youryour poppop getget biggerbigger thethe longerlonger youyou wait?wait? WhatWhat keepskeeps Jell-O’sJell-O’s waterwater fromfrom oozing out? Why does your tongue stick to something frozen?frozen? AndAnd whywhy don’tdon’t youryour jointsjoints squeak?squeak? Questions such as those have remained unanswered not only because they have seemed complex, but also because they require that scientists pursue a politically risky domain of science: water research. politically risky domain of science: water research. Professor Gerald Pollack is Founding Editor-in-Chief of Scientists trying to understand the “social behavior” Scientists trying to understand the “social behavior” the scientific journal, WATER and is recognized as an of H 0 do so at grave risk to their reputations and of H220 do so at grave risk to their reputations and international leader in science and engineering. livelihoodslivelihoods becausebecause waterwater sciencescience hashas sufferedsuffered repeatedrepeated fiascos.fiascos. WaterWater scientistsscientists havehave beenbeen virtuallyvirtually The University of Washington Faculty chose Pollack, tarredtarred andand feathered.feathered. in 2008, to receive their highest annual distinction: the Faculty Lecturer Award. He was the 2012 recipient of the Undaunted, one scientist has navigated the perils of coveted Prigogine Medal for thermodynamics of dissipative water science by conducting dozens of simple, carefully systems. He has received an honorary doctorate from Ural controlledcontrolled experimentsexperiments andand piecingpiecing togethertogether thethe State University in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and was more first coherent account of water’s three dimensional recently named an Honorary Professor of the Russian structurestructure andand behavior.behavior. Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Member of the Srpska Academy. Pollack is a Founding Fellow of the American Professor Pollack takes us on a fantastic voyage Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a throughthrough water,water, showingshowing usus aa hiddenhidden universeuniverse teemingteeming Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the with physical activity that provides answers so Biomedical Engineering Society. He recently received an simplesimple thatthat anyany curiouscurious personperson cancan understand.understand. InIn NIH Director’s Transformative R01 Award for his work on conversationalconversational prose,prose, PollackPollack relentlesslyrelentlessly documentsdocuments water, and maintains an active laboratory in Seattle. justjust wherewhere somesome scientistsscientists maymay havehave gonegone wrongwrong withwith theirtheir ByzantineByzantine theories,theories, andand insteadinstead layslays aa simplesimple Pollack’s interests have ranged broadly, from biological foundationfoundation forfor understandingunderstanding howhow changeschanges ofof waterwater motion and cell biology to the interaction of biological structurestructure underlieunderlie mostmost energeticenergetic transitionstransitions ofof formform surfaces with aqueous solutions. His 1990 book, Muscles and motion on Earth. and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion, won an “Excellence Award” from the Society for Technical Pollack invites us to open our eyes and re-experience Communication; his subsequent book, Cells, Gels and the our natural world, to take nothing for granted, and Engines of Life, won that Society’s “Distinguished Award.” toto reawakenreawaken ourour childhoodchildhood dreamdream ofof havinghaving thingsthings make sense. Pollack is recognized worldwide as a dynamic speaker and a scientist willing to challenge any long-held dogma that does not fit the facts. This PDF preview contains: Contents Preface A Bestiary Chapter 1: Surrounded by Mysteries Chapter 2: The Social Behavior of H2O Chapter 3: The Enigma of Interfacial Water Final Chapter 18: The Secret Rules of Nature Index To purchase a book or for more information, please visit: www.ebnerandsons.com THE FOURTH PHASE OF WATER BEYOND SOLID, LIQUID, AND VAPOR GERALD H. POLLACK EBNER & SONS PUBLISHERS EBNERANDSONS.COM SEATTLE WA, USA Ebner and Sons Publishers 3714 48th Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98105 www.ebnerandsons.com For quantity orders, contact publisher. Copyright 2013 by Gerald H. Pollack. All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, by methods known or to be invented, without prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Control Number: 2012956209 Pollack, Gerald H., PhD The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor ISBN Hardback: 978 – 0 – 9626895 – 3 - 6 ISBN Softback: 978 – 0 – 9626895 – 4 - 3 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in South Korea Fonts: Birmingham, IowanOldSt BT, Calibri Cover design by Ethan Pollack Layout design by Amanda Fredericks and Ethan Pollack Illustrated by Ethan Pollack to Gilbert Ling who taught me that water in the cell is nothing like water in a glass; whose courage has been a continuing inspiration. Contents Acknowledgements vi Preface xiii A Bestiary xxii SECTION I: Water Riddles: Forging the Pathway 1. Surrounded by Mysteries 3 2. The Social Behavior of H2O 13 3. The Enigma of Interfacial Water 25 SECTION II: The Hidden Life of Water 4. A Fourth Phase of Water? 45 5. Batteries Made from Water 71 6. Charging the Water Battery 85 7. Water: The Engine of Nature 103 SECTION III: What Moves Water Moves the World 8. A Universal Attractor 125 9. Brown’s Dance: Energy-Driven Movements 141 10. Heat and Temperature: Throwing New Light on Thermal Darkness 163 11. Osmosis and Diffusion: They Don’t Just Happen 183 x SECTION IV: Aqueous Forms in Nature 12. The Power of Protonated Water 203 13. Droplets and Bubbles: Siblings in the Water Family 221 14. Birth of a Bubble: A Passage to Maturity 233 15. Clouds from Coffee: The Remarkable Nature of Evaporation 255 16. Water Trampolines: Layering at the Water’s Surface 281 17. Warming up to Ice 305 SECTION V: Summing Up: Unlocking Earthly Mysteries 18. The Secret Rules of Nature 329 References 342 Photo Credits 349 Glossary 350 Index 353 xi xii Preface There in my living room sat the Nobel laureate. He was shy and I was intimidated, a combination certain to generate awkwardness. It was like trying to make small talk with Einstein. What do you say? Sir Andrew Huxley was a Nobelist among Nobelists. He had already done classical work on cell membranes, and by the time of our meeting he’d become the leader in the field of muscle contraction. His many