PIRSA:15030118

WATER STRESS: SEEKING SOLUTIONS IN THE UNUSUAL PROPERTIES OF WATER

(2015). WATER STRESS: SEEKING SOLUTIONS IN THE UNUSUAL PROPERTIES OF WATER. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/15030118

WATER STRESS: SEEKING SOLUTIONS IN THE UNUSUAL PROPERTIES OF WATER. Perimeter Institute, Mar. 05, 2015, https://pirsa.org/15030118 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:15030118,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/15030118},
            author = {},
            keywords = {Other},
            language = {en},
            title = {WATER STRESS: SEEKING SOLUTIONS IN THE UNUSUAL PROPERTIES OF WATER},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2015},
            month = {mar},
            note = {PIRSA:15030118 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }
Talk number
PIRSA:15030118
Collection
Talk Type
Subject
Abstract

Water Stress:
Seeking Solutions in the
Unusual Properties of Water

Water is ubiquitous, but the availability of fresh water is limited. Today, one in six people is under “water stress,” meaning that they have no access to clean water. It is one of the many paradoxes of water. This essential liquid, which in many ways is so commonplace, is also very peculiar. Water behaves differently than other materials in more than 70 ways. These anomalies not only keep our bodies in balance, but secure the thermal stability of our planet as well. Whereas most liquids contract when cooled, water does the opposite – it expands as temperature drops, which, among other effects, allows fish to survive the winter. What’s more, water diffuses more quickly as a system becomes denser – the opposite behaviour to most other fluids.

In her Perimeter Institute Public Lecture, physicist Dr. Marcia C. Barbosa will examine how we can better understand this precious resource that is both incredibly abundant on Earth, yet dangerously scarce to millions of people. Decoding the strange properties of water, Barbosa argues, may be essential to resolving the widespread problem of water stress.