The physics of liquid water

Bernard Cabane (1) , Rodolphe Vuilleumier (2)

1 PMMH - Physique et mécanique des milieux hétérogenes (UMR 7636)
2 LPTL - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique des Liquides

Liquid water is a liquid with extraordinary properties: it has a very high cohesion, and an exceptionally strong dielectric cohesion, yet it is a fluid at ambient temperature and pressure. It also has an open structure that is full of voids, especially so at low temperatures. Some of these properties are found in other fluids, but the combination of all these anomalies makes liquid water unique among all other fluids. It is thanks to these unusual properties that life evolved in water and nowhere else.

Mots clés: Water; cohesion; H-bond; hydrogen bond; dipole moment; dielectric constant; structure

Domaines: Autre; Matériaux

Bernard Cabane, Rodolphe Vuilleumier. The physics of liquid water. Comptes Rendus Géoscience, 2005, 337, pp.159. ⟨hal-00015954⟩