I have reached the last part of the blog series "Empirical evidence". After I wrote about the meaning of theories and the "Trial and Error Principle", it's time for practice.
Water is a "chemical curiosity", as it is described so accurately in the Spektrum special issue. This means that under certain circumstances it behaves differently than expected.
Anomalies of water
The best known anomaly that water shows is certainly the density anomaly. While other substances reliably lose volume when they cool down, water behaves quite differently. Its density only increases until it reaches a temperature of 4°C but then, as it continues to cool down, the density decreases. The water therefore expands again - this is the reason why you should take care to remove beverage bottles from the freezer before they explode.
However, new discoveries are made regularly about the properties of water.
Water is able to store large amounts of heat without heating itself excessively. This is decisive for our climate, for example in the form of the Gulf Stream.
One of the more recent findings is that water is "lumpy". The water molecules form stable bridges with each other. These bonds ensure that stable structures exist in the area of molecular vibrations, which presumably determine the thermal conductivity of water.
Why is this important?
Life on earth is essentially dependent on the occurrence of water. It is crucial for biochemical processes in living beings, it determines our climate and makes our planet a habitat. The more characteristics of water we know, the more we can utilise these actively.
However, we do not yet fully understand all the properties and peculiarities. For example, it is not certain why ice is slippery and how we can skate on it. It is also not conclusively explained why hot water freezes faster than cold water (Mpemba effect). Nevertheless, we still use it when preparing ice rinks in the stadium, for example.
What does this have to do with Merus?
When it comes to the characteristics of water that have not been fully researched, but which can be used in a targeted way, we become attentive. After all, this is the secret behind Merus technology. We know that the molecular oscillation can be specifically influenced. We also know how to increase the solubility of water-soluble substances in this way. However, the space for unexplored interrelationships and characteristics is enormous. So we are content with what we know and use it for water treatment without chemical additives.
Literature
Lars Fischer: Wasser ist klumpig. Hg. v. Spektrum KOMPAKT (Wasser - die rätselhaften Eigenschaften von H2O). Available online at https://www.spektrum.de/news/wasser-ist-klumpig/1366449, last checked on 24.10.2019.
Philipp Hummel (2014): Wenn Heißes schneller gefriert. Mpemba-Effekt. Hg. v. Spektrum der Wissenschaft, last checked on 27.01.2014.
Warum können wir Schlittschuh laufen? Was wir noch nicht wissen: ARD-Alpha. Available online at https://www.br.de/mediathek/video/was-wir-noch-nicht-wissen-warum-koennen-wir-schlittschuh-laufen-av:585dc9163e2f290012a9ada1, last checked on 24.10.2019.
Wolfgang W. Merkel (2010): Immer mehr bizarre Eigenarten beim Wasser entdeckt (DIE WELT). Available online at https://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article8211071/Immer-mehr-bizarre-Eigenarten-beim-Wasser-entdeckt.html, zuletzt aktualisiert am 30.06.2010, last checked on 24.10.2019