Water

In Our Time: Science

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2013

⏱️ 39 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss one of the simplest and most remarkable of all molecules: water. Water is among the most abundant substances on Earth, covering more than two-thirds of the planet. Consisting of just three atoms, the water molecule is superficially simple in its structure but extraordinary in its properties. It is a rare example of a substance that can be found on Earth in gaseous, liquid and solid forms, and thanks to its unique chemical behaviour is the basis of all known life. Scientists are still discovering new things about it, such as the fact that there are at least fifteen different forms of ice. Hasok Chang Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge Andrea Sella Professor of Chemistry at University College London Patricia Hunt Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at Imperial College London. Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:02.4	For more details about in our time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.
0:07.1	UK slash Radio 4.
0:09.2	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:11.2	Hello, water is one of the commonest substances on Earth. It covers 70% of the planet's surface,
0:17.0	including the vast amounts of water in our atmosphere in organisms and in the Earth itself, we're surrounded by more than 330 million cubic miles of the stuff.
0:26.0	It's the second commonest molecule in the universe after hydrogen.
0:30.0	Water is one of the simplest chemical compounds we know, but it's also one of the most intriguing.
0:34.6	Perhaps because it's all around us we tend to think of water as normal,
0:38.0	but it's quite an exceptional molecule.
0:40.0	It dissolves more substances than any other liquid and it's essential for all life.
0:44.6	Since the 19th century it's been known by the formula H2O and today scientists are still discovering
0:49.5	new things about water.
0:50.9	We now know for instance there are at least 15 different types of ice.
0:54.6	With me to discuss the chemistry of water are.
0:56.8	Hasok Chang, Hans Horizing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the
1:00.9	University of Cambridge.
1:02.3	Andrea Seller, Professor of Chemistry at University College London,
1:06.0	and Patricia Hunt, Senior Lecture in Chemistry at Imperial College London.
1:10.0	Hasok Chang, it wasn't until the Chemical revolution of the 18th century that we began to understand the nature of water.
1:17.0	Who were the first scientists to make progress and what were they progressing from?
1:21.0	Well, we associate the idea that water is a compound made of hydrogen and
	...

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