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Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula H 2 O.It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, [c] and nearly colorless chemical substance.It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent [20]).
Water is a tasteless, odorless liquid at ambient temperature and pressure. Liquid water has weak absorption bands at wavelengths of around 750 nm which cause it to appear to have a blue color. [4] This can easily be observed in a water-filled bath or wash-basin whose lining is white. Large ice crystals, as in glaciers, also appear blue.
Some marine animals such as jellyfish have gelatinous bodies, composed mainly of water; their thick mesogloea is acellular and highly transparent. This conveniently makes them buoyant, but it also makes them large for their muscle mass, so they cannot swim fast, making this form of camouflage a costly trade-off with mobility. [18]
The spectrum of ice is similar to that of liquid water, with peak maxima at 3400 cm −1 (2.941 μm), 3220 cm −1 (3.105 μm) and 1620 cm −1 (6.17 μm) [14] In both liquid water and ice clusters, low-frequency vibrations occur, which involve the stretching (TS) or bending (TB) of intermolecular hydrogen bonds (O–H•••O).
The same water in a smaller bucket looks only slightly cyan, [1] and observing the water at close range makes it appear colorless to the naked eye. The intrinsic color of liquid water may be demonstrated by looking at a white light source through a long pipe that is filled with purified water and closed at both ends with a transparent window.
Water covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, with seas and oceans making up most of the water volume (about 96.5%). Small portions of water occur as groundwater (1.7%), in the glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland (1.7%), and in the air as vapor, clouds (consisting of ice and liquid water suspended in air), and precipitation ...
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Water vapor, water vapour or aqueous vapor is the gaseous phase of water. It is one state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from the sublimation of ice. Water vapor is transparent, like most constituents of the atmosphere. [1]