Almost every plant process is affected either directly or indirectly by water, and so nursery managers and growers must have a good understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of water. Fascinating Facts about Water. The bipolar electrical charge creates an intense attraction between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in adjacent water molecules, and these hydrogen bonds are responsible for most of water's amazing properties. Someone once calculated the force of hydrogen bonds as 21 billion times that of gravity, which explains why water is one of nature's most stable compounds. A substance with the low molecular weight of water should exist as a gas at the normal temperatures but, due to strong hydrogen bonding, it is a liquid.
Water has the most anomalous properties of any common substance.
The strong polarity of the water molecule causes them to surround dissolved ions and molecules and weakens the forces between them. In fact, water is so effective at dissolving other compounds that it is almost impossible to find chemically pure water in nature. The high dielectric constant is biologically important because water carries mineral nutrients and organic products of photosynthesis as well as dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide. Water also has remarkable softening properties, reducing the hardness and strength of soils so that it can be tilled. On the negative side, the high dielectric constant of water causes it to absorb ions and leach them from soils, growing media, and even from seedling foliage.