However, water is often perceived to be pretty ordinary. We wash in water, fish in water, swim in water, drink water and cook with water, although probably not all at the same time. We are about two-thirds water and require water to live. Life as we know it could not have evolved without water and dies without it.
Droughts cause famines and floods cause death and disease.
Because of its clear importance, water is the most studied material on Earth. It comes as a surprise, therefore, to find that it is so poorly understood, not only by people in general, but also by scientists working with it everyday. Water seems, at first sight, to be a very simple molecule, consisting of just two hydrogen atoms attached to an oxygen atom. Indeed, there are very few molecules that are smaller. The size of the water molecule, however, belies the complexity of its properties and these properties seem to fit ideally into the requirements for life as can no other molecule.