…WATER……WATER… A MIRACLE MOLECULE

“Do you see that Allah sends down water from the sky and forthwith the earth is covered in green? Allah is All-Subtle, All- Aware.” “Do you see that Allah sends down water from the sky and forthwith the earth is covered in green? Allah is All-Subtle, All- Aware.” Surah Al-Hajj:63

Introduction A liquid specifically chosen for life- covers 2/3 of our earth. A fundamental elements of the body of living beings - ratio ranging between 50%-95%. Life is present everywhere where there is water, no matter at what temperature - even in a single droplet hung on a leaf after rain, thousands of microscopic living organisms emerge, reproduce, and die.

How Water is Formed? 2 Hydrogens + 1 Oxygen Imagine if we put hydrogen and oxygen molecules in a glass bowl and leave them for a very long time. Can they form water ? Yes but will be really slow. Formation depends on temperature. At room temperature, oxygen and hydrogen react very slowly.

Oxygen and hydrogen, when free, are found as H2 and O2 molecules. To combine to form the water molecule, they must collide. As a result of this collision, the bonds forming the hydrogen and oxygen molecules weaken, leaving no hindrance for the combination of oxygen and hydrogen atoms.

Uses of water Agriculture – Africans, for instance, devote 88 percent of the water they use to agriculture (watering crops) Industrial - uses water for cooling, processing, cleaning and removing industrial wastes. Nuclear and fossil- fueled power plants are the single largest industrial users, applying staggering amounts of water to the job of cooling. Domestic usage - drinking, food preparation, washing, cleaning, gardens and service industries such as restaurants and laundromats

The Miraculous Properties of Water The only natural substance that is found in all three states - liquid, solid, and gas - at the temperatures normally found on Earth. Needs a huge thermal energy to evaporate – cooling down body temperature. **Normal temperature of the body is 36°C and the highest body temperature we can tolerate is 42°C. This 6°C interval is indeed very small and working under the sun for a few hours can increase body temperature by that amount. Yet, our bodies spend a great amount of thermal energy trough sweating, that is, by causing the water it contains to evaporate - causes body temperature to drop.

Water’s being more viscous in its liquid state than in its solid state. Most substance on earth are more viscous in their solid states than in their liquid states. Contrary to other substances, however, water expands as it freezes. This is because hydrogen bonds prevent water molecules from bonding to each other too tightly, and thus many gaps are left in between them. Hydrogen bonds are broken down when water is in liquid state, which causes oxygen atoms to come closer to each other and form a more viscous structure. This also causes ice to be lighter than water.

For example.. When the weather is very cold, it is not the whole river, but only the surface of it that freezes. Water reaches its heaviest state at +4°C, and as soon as it reaches this temperature, it immediately sinks to the bottom. Ice is formed on top of water as layer. Under this layer, water continues to flow, and since +4°C is a temperature at which living organisms can survive, life in water continues.

These unique properties which Allah has given water make life possible on the earth. In the Qur’an, Allah states the importance of this great blessing He offers man: “It is He who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it come shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. There is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect.” Surah An-Nahl:10-11

+Water has a high specific heat index. This means that water can absorb a lot of heat before it begins to get hot. + The high specific heat index of water helps regulate the rate at which air changes temperature, which is why the temperature change between seasons is gradual rather than sudden, especially near the oceans.

+Water has a very high surface tension. In other words, water is sticky and elastic, and tends to clump together in drops rather than spread out in a thin film. +Surface tension is responsible for capillary action, which allows water (and its dissolved substances) to move through the roots of plants and through the tiny blood vessels in our bodies. capillary action

A universal solvent because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. This means that wherever water goes, either through the ground or through our bodies, it takes along valuable chemicals, minerals, and nutrients. Water has a neutral pH of 7, which is neither acidic nor basic.pHacidicbasic