1. Water:-
Introduction
water, odorless, tasteless, transparent liquid that is colorless in small amounts but exhibits a bluish tinge in large
quantities. It is the most familiar and abundant liquid on earth. In solid form (ice) and liquid form it covers
about 70% of the earth's surface. It is present in varying amounts in the atmosphere. Most of the living tissue of
a human being is made up of water; it constitutes about 92% of blood plasma, about 80% of muscle tissue,
about 60% of red blood cells, and over half of most other tissues. It is also an important component of the
tissues of most other living things
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What are the physical characteristics of water?

2. Physical characteristics of water are temperature,
colour, turbidity, odor and taste, and solid content.
The boiling point of water (and all other liquids) is
dependent on the barometric pressure. For
example, on the top of Mt. Everest water boils at
68 °C (154 °F), compared to 100 °C (212 °F) at sea
level. Conversely, water deep in the ocean near
geothermal vents can reach temperatures of
hundreds of degrees and remain liquid.
• At 4181.3 J/(kg·K), water has a high specific heat
capacity, as well as a high heat of vaporization
(40.65 kJ·mol−1), both of which are a result of the
extensive hydrogen bonding between its molecules.
These two unusual properties allow water to
moderate Earth's climate by buffering large
fluctuations in temperature.
• The maximum density of water occurs at 3.98 °C
(39.16 °F).[15] It has the anomalous property of
becoming less dense, not more, when it is cooled to

3. its solid form, ice. During freezing, the 'open
structure' of ice is gradually broken and molecules
enter cavities in ice-like structure of low
temperature water. There are two competing effects:
1) Increasing volume of normal liquid and 2)
Decrease overall volume of the liquid. Between 0
and 3.98 °C, the second effect will cancel off the
first effect so the net effect is shrinkage of volume
with increasing temperature.[16] It expands to occupy
9% greater volume in this solid state, which
accounts for the fact of ice floating on liquid water,
as in icebergs.
• The density of liquid water is 1,000 kg/m3
(62.43 lb/cu ft) at 4 °C. Ice has a density of
917 kg/m3 (57.25 lb/cu ft).
• Water is miscible with many liquids, such as
ethanol, in all proportions, forming a single
homogeneous liquid. On the other hand, water and
most oils are immiscible, usually forming layers
according to increasing density from the top. As a
gas, water vapor is completely miscible with air.

4. Taste and odor
Water can dissolve many different substances, giving it
varying tastes and odors. Humans and other animals
have developed senses that enable them to evaluate the
potability of water by avoiding water that is too salty or
putrid. The taste of spring water and mineral water,
often advertised in marketing of consumer products,
derives from the minerals dissolved in it. However,
pure H2O is tasteless and odorless. The advertised
purity of spring and mineral water refers to absence of
toxins, pollutants and microbes, not the absence of
naturally occurring minerals.
Heat exchange
Water and steam are used as heat transfer fluids in
diverse heat exchange systems, due to its availability
and high heat capacity, both as a coolant and for
heating. Cool water may even be naturally available
from a lake or the sea. Condensing steam is a
particularly efficient heating fluid because of the large
heat of vaporization. A disadvantage is that water and
steam are somewhat corrosive. In almost all electric
power stations, water is the coolant, which vaporizes
and drives steam turbines to drive generators. In the
U.S., cooling power plants is the largest use of water.[40]

5. In the nuclear power industry, water can also be used as
a neutron moderator. In most nuclear reactors, water is
both a coolant and a moderator. This provides
something of a passive safety measure, as removing the
water from the reactor also slows the nuclear reaction
down – however other methods are favored for stopping
a reaction and it is preferred to keep the nuclear core
covered with water so as to ensure adequate cooling.

6. In the nuclear power industry, water can also be used as
a neutron moderator. In most nuclear reactors, water is
both a coolant and a moderator. This provides
something of a passive safety measure, as removing the
water from the reactor also slows the nuclear reaction
down – however other methods are favored for stopping
a reaction and it is preferred to keep the nuclear core
covered with water so as to ensure adequate cooling.