Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Why water is the universal solvent, despite not being good at dissolving many substances

Because oxygen attracts electrons much more strongly than hydrogen does in H₂O, the molecule is polar, with a negative charge at the oxygen atom and positive charges at the hydrogen atoms. These charged regions can attract and pull apart charged portions of other polar molecules, such as washable inks, but are unable to dissolve nonpolar materials, such as glass and asphalt.

Learn why magnets, like statically charged balloons, can deflect water

While the oxygen atom in water molecules strongly attracts hydrogen's electrons—producing an uneven charge distribution that pulls water toward balloons that have been rubbed against surfaces—the presence of a magnetic field alters the path of these electrons, which produce their own tiny magnetic fields. The interaction of these fields repels water away from magnets, making it diamagnetic.

Electricity is produced when the ends of a battery are connected by a conducting wire, triggering chemical reactions that release the energy stored in chemical bonds.

A chemical overview of water, whose uncommon properties help sustain life on Earth

The uneven distribution of charge in water molecules allows them to bond to each other and to surfaces, enabling them to move against gravity, including up plants through roots and stems. These bonds also keep water in a liquid state over a wider temperature range and make it less dense as it freezes. This causes ice to float and form an insulating layer for underwater ecosystems, from which all life originated.

Distinguishing polar and nonpolar molecules and why charges get distributed unevenly in molecules

Because each element has a unique number of protons and configuration where electrons exist, they attract electrons that are shared with other elements in chemical bonds to varying degrees. When this attraction—electronegativity—varies between two bonded elements, electrons are more likely to be near the more electronegative element and away from the less electronegative element. This can create regions of opposite charge, or poles, and thus polar molecules.

Hydrogen fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity and water, can be run in reverse to produce hydrogen fuel from water.

The characteristic zigzag of lightning originates from columns of conductive oxygen

Energized electrons from the base of clouds collide with oxygen molecules, placing them in a "singlet delta state," which makes the air conductive. Collisions continue until more than 1% of nearby oxygen is in this state—about 0.00005 seconds—matching the electrical potential of the cloud and propogating electricity in a 50-meter "step."

Debating whether water is or is not wet depends on one's definition of wetness

If defined as a liquid sticking to a surface, then water itself is not wet. The sensation of "wetness" arises from water molecules latching onto an object. This occurs because water is a polar molecule possessing local regions of positive and negative charge that are attracted to charge imbalances on the surface of materials.

Electricity can flow indefinitely along a ring of superconducting material, which provides zero resistance to the movement of charges due to quantum effects.

In osmotic power systems, the natural movement of water from regions of low to high salt concentration is used to generate electricity from pressurized water.

Iron rusts in the presence of water and oxygen because these ingredients enable the metal atoms to release energy and enter a more stable state.

You have never made physical contact with anything in your life because electrons in the outer layer of atoms on the surface of objects repel one another.

Breaking down the different types of drinking water, from alkaline to sparkling

While tap water is regulated by the EPA, environmental and infrastructural factors can introduce contaminants, which filtering can help to remove. Distilled water has had all of its mineral contaminants removed and may be used in laboratory settings, but mineral water has them added in for taste or to promote health.

Plasma is the most abundant form of visible matter in the universe

When electrons are stripped from neutral atoms as a result of high-energy interactions, such as lightning strikes, the atoms become positively charged ions. The mix of these ions and negatively charged electrons, which are too energetic to recombine, is extremely electrically conductive and affected by magnetic fields.

Electrogenic animals generate their own electricity within an electric organ by changing the pattern of electrical charges in disc-shaped cells called electrocytes.

The outermost shell of electrons in an atom dictates how it bonds to other atoms, including those of the same element, and the properties of the materials composed of those atoms.

In nuclear reactors, water acts as a coolant and moderator, slowing neutrons produced in nuclear reactions so they are more likely to interact with nuclear fuel and generate sustainable energy.

How geometry and uneven charge distribution make some molecules greenhouse gases

Molecules vibrate and rotate with different frequencies based on their elemental composition and shape, which can produce uneven distributions of electrons, as seen in carbon dioxide and water. The resulting unbalanced electric field can interact with electromagnetic waves of the same frequency, causing the molecule to absorb the radiation.

Electricity can be lethal because it can disrupt the nervous system, which controls critical bodily functions that rely on electrical signals between cells, such as breathing and heart rate.

Oxygen is produced in the International Space Station from recycled water, which is split into hydrogen and oxygen gases using an electric current.

Explore how excitatory cells, such as neurons and muscle cells, transmit information in the body via electrochemical signals, which can travel up to 120 meters (390 feet) per second.

Surface ocean currents are primarily driven by wind, tides, and Earth's rotation, while deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in temperature and salt concentration.

Lightning forms when streams of rising and falling charged particles connect

In cloud-to-ground lightning, a buildup of negative charge at the bottom of clouds repels electrons on Earth's surface, leaving behind positively charged particles. When descending negatively charged air—the stepped leader—meets rising positively charged particles—the upward streamer—brightening runs up the connection, producing intense flashes known as return strokes.

An overview of oxygenic photosynthesis, which releases oxygen from breaking down water

Within the membranes of chloroplasts, electrons in pigments are energized by light and transferred across a series of molecules until they create the energetic NADPH molecule. This transfer also powers a hydrogen pump, which creates an ion imbalance that, when relieved, produces energetic ATP molecules. Outside the membranes, both NADPH and ATP are used to synthesize G3Ps, which are funneled into other metabolic pathways to produce sugars.

Leptons do not experience the strong nuclear force that binds quarks together

Particles like electrons can exist in isolation, enabling them to move more freely. Within circuits, this allows electrons to carry energy across wire surfaces quickly. Contrastingly, light created in the sun's core is delayed by a million years on its way to Earth due to collisions with free electrons.

Different types of ice link water molecules together in unique shapes

The ice used to cool drinks—Iₕ—is composed of H₂O molecules arranged in hexagonal structures. This structure forms as ice expands during freezing, providing additional space between molecules, lowering the overall density, and allowing it to float in water. Under sufficient pressure, this spacing can collapse in many ways, creating new forms of ice.

On average, the human body produces about 100 watts of electricity—enough to power a light bulb—but some people can produce over 2,000 watts in short bursts, such as when sprinting.

Earth's first oceans may have been as much as 230 degrees Celsius (446 degrees Fahrenheit), with atmospheric pressure preventing them from boiling.

Research shows that cosmic rays may trigger the cascade of displaced electrons needed to produce lightning, which is also enabled by pointed ice crystals that create strong electric fields.

Although PFAS, or forever chemicals, are intentionally designed to be extremely stable and long-lasting because of their strong carbon-fluorine bonds, these bonds can be broken by heat, plasma, and supercritical water.

Instead of consuming water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and sugar, anoxygenic photosynthesis involves alternative reactants and products.

Most advanced touch screens rely on electrical charge in your skin

Capacitive touch screens store electrical charges in an electrostatic grid of tiny wires. When we touch the screen a tiny electrical charge is transferred from the screen to the finger to complete a circuit (since skin has positive and negative charges). This connection creates a voltage drop on that point of the screen. Cloth, however, doesn't conduct electricity, which is why humans can't wear thick gloves and operate their smartphones.

Our bodies cool us down by sweating because water requires a significant amount of energy to change state from liquid to gas, making it an ideal medium for carrying thermal energy away from our bodies.

Earth's oceans do mix, despite viral images and videos claiming to show boundaries between oceans that waters do not cross.

Lightning is the sudden flow of electricity in the atmosphere as two oppositely charged regions seek to become balanced via the movement of electrons.

Why most atoms do not spontaneously break apart, despite protons repelling one another

At small scales, the strong nuclear force overwhelms electromagnetic repulsion between positively charged particles, keeping the nucleus intact. However, because the force's range is limited, it cannot provide the attraction needed to hold onto protons that are spread out across very large atomic nuclei.

Distinguishing club soda, seltzer, and sparkling water

The three forms of drinking water are similar, but their differences lie mostly in the presence and proportion of minerals and carbonation. Read this quick explainer on the major differences.

The one-electron theory describes the universe as having only one electron

The thought experiment explains why every electron has the same charge and mass as every other electron, and describes every positron—the antimatter version of the electron—as that same electron traveling backwards in time. Among other foundational challenges, the model suggests that the universe contains equal numbers of electrons and positrons, yet normal matter is much more common than antimatter.

Watch underwater photosynthesis make water look like champagne

In shallow waters where sunlight can reach, photosynthetic reactions absorb water and dissolved carbon dioxide, producing bubbles of oxygen at the surface of plants. As these bubbles rise to the water's surface, a fizzy appearance is created.

Elements, isotopes, and ions can be identified by the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons within the atoms that make up a substance.

The speed of electricity may refer to the movement of electrons, which is on the order of a fraction of a millimeter per second, or energy, which is near the speed of light.

Watch a timeline of the history of electricity, from observations of static electricity in antiquity to the War of the Currents—a rivalry to establish the ideal system for electric grids.

If two strands of conducting materials are connected at two junctions, electricity can be generated if one junction is heated while the other is cooled—a phenomenon known as the Seebeck effect.

Metallic hydrogen exists in Jupiter and Saturn due to high pressure and temperature

This state of hydrogen has metallic properties, including conductivity, which powers these planets' magnetic fields. First theorized in the 1930s, its existence was confirmed through indirect evidence before being created in a Harvard lab in 2017.

Breaking down the challenges of alkaline environments and how extremophiles survive them

These areas are far less acidic than the interiors of most organisms' cells, and this imbalance draws protons that are needed for various metabolic processes, including energy production, out of cells. To counter these effects, some alkaliphiles have developed stronger proton regulation across their cellular membranes and proteins that drive these processes with greater stability amid such acidity imbalances.

Metals can be welded together in space without needing heat

On Earth, oxygen naturally reacts with metals to form an oxide layer on their surface, which prevents two different pieces from fusing when they come into contact. If the layer is worn away without oxygen to replenish it, metals can instead stick together upon impact—a phenomenon known as cold welding.

The ocean gets its salt from runoff carrying fragments of eroded rock and from seawater dissolving salts and minerals from magma at seafloor spreading centers.

Watch lightning strike a building at 40,000 frames per second

When the built-up layer of negative charge at the bottom of clouds is sufficiently high, a network of charge filaments will emerge. If one of the filaments meets a rising strand of positively charged particles, a highly conductive path forms, and charges across all filaments move to the path, generating lightning

Simulate the buildup and discharge of static electricity through friction by dragging the arm and leg of 'John Travoltage' along surfaces.

Although consuming saltwater can dehydrate and kill organisms, some fish survive by using specialized gills that leach excess salt from their bodies back into the surrounding water.