Can someone say "cray cray"?
How is it possible for an entire glass of water molecules to stand up on their own? It could be simple physics, or an illusion of the mind. Polar covalent water molecules stick together due to hydrogen bonds. In the "Hydrogen Bonding & Water" experiment, only a few dozen droplets of water were able to be piled onto the penny before the surface tension was disrupted. In this experiment, the water molecules of an entire glass of water remained in a pile, without the support of the glass to lean on. Why? Should the tower of molecules not have collapsed as soon as the glass was removed?
Newton's first law of motion states that at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In the cases of both the penny and the glass of water, there was an outside force: the surrounding atmosphere. We presume that the same experiments on the moon, a place with no atmosphere, would last an infinite amount of time, unless deliberately knocked over by a physical body.
It is difficult to fathom the complexities of this experiment, but that does not mean it cannot be done. With patience and skill, the results can be duplicated at home.
We know what we will be doing tonight.
- Keara and Rohana
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