Polarity, Turbulence And, Liquification

I was watching some turbulence in flowing water when something occurred to me that I had never read before. Eddys are the small whirlpools that form when flowing water is in contact with still or slower-moving water. Eddys also occur in the air when the wind encounters some obstacle.

I realized that this phenomenon only occurs when the molecules of the fluid or gas are polar. Atoms are symmetrical all around but most molecules are not. This means that the electric charge one one side of the molecule is more positive and the other side more negative. This polarity causes attraction or repulsion between molecules and when an attraction forms between still and moving molecules, the moving molecule is diverted in it's path and the still molecule is pulled along. The repulsion and attraction to other molecules by the pair creates a circular motion which is the beginning of an eddy.

A fluid, whether liquid or gas, will not form eddys if it consists of atoms alone and not molecules. This is because the atoms are symmetrical and without polarity eddys cannot get started. At the boundary between the moving and still water, millions of small eddys get started until they merge into few larger ones. Such an eddy is a compromise between the moving and still waters or the faster-moving and slower-moving waters.

Air is actually polar but not in the same way as water. Water has polarity because it's molecule consists of one atom of oxygen and two of hydrogen. Air is polar and so creates eddys because the oxygen and nitrogen in the air consists of two atoms together instead of one. In other words, these two gases in the air are in a "diatomic" state.

Thus, different part of the molecule display a different electric charge, Without this assymmetry of the oxygen and nitrogen in the air and thus polarity, tornados or hurricanes could not form, since these are really only large eddys. This could not happen if the oxygen and nitrogen in the air was not diatomic.

I noticed something else that I had never seen referred to anywhere. There is a direct relationship between the strength of the polarity of molecules of gas and the temperature at which the gas will liquify.

In any diatomic, which means molecules that pair together such as two oxygens or two nitrogens, or any gas that exists in molecular, as opposed to atomic, form, some degree of polarity will be inevitable. Polarity is simply the difference in electric charge from one side of the molecule to the other because it is generally impossible for a molecule to be symmetrical all around in the same way that a single atom is. Polarity in molecules is similar in concept to the ionic bonds between atoms which causes them to form molecules. One atom loses an electron to another, giving the losing one a positive charge and the gaining one a negative charge, which creates an electric bond between them.

As the temperature drops, the absolute temperature at which a gas will liquify is proportional to the difference in electrical charge between one side of the molecule and the other. To liquify at all at normal pressure, a gas must be molecular in structure. One that is composed of atoms instead of molecules will not liquify. A gas with strong polarity, such as water vapor (vapour), will liquify at high temperatures. This is why we can have liquid water at normal temperatures. A gas with weak polarity, such as oxygen, will require very low temperatures to become liquid.

Liquid is basically what a gas does when the temperature is low enough so that the polar attraction between molecules can overcome the motion of the molecules caused by heat energy. Pressure is a factor too, low pressure favors (favours) the molecules remaining as a gas while high pressure favours (favors) the formation of a liquid. Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and, helium can all be liquified with enough cold and pressure. A simple molecule consisting of two like atoms together such as the gases of the atmosphere form (except carbon dioxide) has a different charge at one of the ends of the molecule than it does on a side of the molecule.

Thus when the gas condenses into a liquid, the molecules are like capsules fitting together end to side. What I want to do is to begin expressing the strength of polar bonds in terms of the degrees of temperature at which it breaks at the standard pressure of one atmosphere. There are supposedly three states of matter: solids, liquids and, gases. This is the most basic of chemistry. But it may be time for a reevaluation of the states of matter. I find it to be somewhat more complex with regard to liquids.

Unlike the other two states of matter, liquid cannot exist independently in open space. The formation of a liquid requires both gravity from below and pressure from above. Only two of the approximately one hundred chemical elements, mercury and bromine, are liquid at room temperature.

Water, for example, will be either a gas or a solid, water vapor (vapour) or ice, without such pressure. Ice is known to exist on the moon, but not liquid water because that would require pressure from above and the moon has almost no atmosphere to provide such pressure.

Comets are composed mostly of water ice, the water on earth almost certainly originated with comets. But the water can only exist as a solid and a gas before it is brought within the atmospheric pressure on earth. The body of the comet is solid ice, but a comet also manifests a "tail" as it nears the sun in it's orbit. This is caused by pressure from what is known as the "solar wind", the stream of particles from the sun. This pushes some of the water molecules back as vapor, which reflects sunlight and causes the appearance of the comet's tail. Notice that the tail of a comet always points away from the sun.

This leads me to believe that solids and gases are the primary states of matter, while liquids can be described as a secondary state. Matter will be a solid if the gravitational pull is strong enough so that there is no space left between the atoms or molecules or if there are chemical or structural bonds to hold it together. The matter will form a gas if the gravitational bonds are less, but there is no provision for liquids which can best be described as a transitional state of matter between gases and solids with special requirements such as gravity from below and pressure from above.

There is no better illustration of this than boiling water. Usually, water only evaporates from it's surface. But, if it is heated to a certain point, water will begin to evaporate from the entire volume of the water rather than just the surface. This is known as the boiling point, and the familiar bubbling is water evaporating from below the surface.

The boiling point of water is very much a function of atmospheric pressure. As anyone who has lived on mountains knows, water will boil at a lower temperature at higher altitude. Since there is no atmopsheric pressure in outer space, this means that the temperature at which ice will melt and water will vaporize is the same temperature, and thus there is no liquid water or any other liquid, in space.

Thus, it makes sense that a true state of matter, or at least a primary state of matter, must be able to exist in open space and this does not include liquids.