Strange Brew 10. Pride, Prejudice and Pathology 271 11. This asymmetrical charge distribution makes the molecules in any container of water stick together like a truckload of magnets. Due to this stickiness, a drop of water on the table or on a leaf remains huddled together in a rounded droplet shape, and the surface of a pond has the surface tension to permit a water bug to walk on it. To cut the grease on our dinner plates, we add a little soap to the dishwater, which, being made of nonpolar molecules, can pry the gunk off the dishes.
Water is the only liquid that expands when it freezes, which makes ice float on a lake.
In the winter, the lake freezes from the top down, and fish can continue to live in the liquid water beneath the ice. Philip Ball takes us on a journey through the history of the universe, beginning with the first nanoseconds after the Big Bang. The O part of the formula, oxygen atoms, like all the other elements, were formed much later, after stars were born. They were manufactured by nuclear fusion inside the stars. Water distribution throughout the world Click here to display the price and option to buy Clumps of star material broke away and formed the planets.