Influence of Gravity on the Collective Molecular Dynamics of Liquid Water: The Case of the Floating Water Bridge
Del Giudice E1 and Vitiello G2,*
1 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, Milano – 20133 Italy and IIB, Neuss, Germany, emilio.delgiudice@mi.infn.it
2 Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Gruppo collegato di Salerno, Università di Salerno, Fisciano (SA) – 84084 Italy
* Correspondence: Email: vitiello@sa.infn.it
Key Words: water, quantum electrodynamics, floating water bridge, zero gravity
Received 18 December 2010; accepted 2 February 2011; Published 27 February 2011; Amended online 12 March 2011
Summary
Quantum electrodynamics (QED) produces a picture of liquid water as a mixture of a low density coherent phase and an high density non-coherent phase. Consequently, the Archimedes principle prescribes that, within a gravitational field, liquid water should be made up, at surface, mainly of the coherent fraction, which becomes a cage where the gas-like non-coherent fraction is trapped, acquiring a non-vanishing pressure (vapor tension). Therefore, it is possible to probe the QED picture by observing the behavior of liquid water under reduced gravity conditions. The floating water bridge could be a useful test model.