Social Media

Many people have taken to their devices to debate the topic and share their opinions on whether or not they think water is wet. Teens go back and forth on the subject and some even take to Twitter polls to decide on who is right.

Is Water Wet? Explain Your Answer. #IsWaterWet

— Mxtro (@xMxtro_) November 30, 2017

This tweet is just a simple poll that 84 people have participated in and decided that Water is not wet, but many people still disagree with that opinion. From many other places, and not just social media they are taking to their time to debate online on other websites about how water could be wet or could not be.

One website says “We can think of every substance having around three phases, basic phases. Solid, liquid and gas. Water is fundamentally part of these three categories. […]  Water makes things wet because it is wet itself. Red paint makes a canvas red because it is red itself. Sugar makes cake sweet because it is sweet itself. Water is wet and wetness is not just a symptom of water.”

Websites and Twitter will show you that this is a super big debate for young adults in today’s world.

Water

It’s something we need to survive. Something we need to prosper, and to lead healthy lives. But now, it has become a very controversial topic in social media. People are debating back and forth on whether or not water is wet.

• Websters dictionary describes Water as, “the liquid that descends from the clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes, and seas, and is a major constituent of all living matter and that when pure is an odorless, tasteless, very slightly compressible liquid oxide of hydrogen”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Water -a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.[/perfectpullquote]

Science Behind The State

UCSB ScienceLine says that, “Being a liquid, water is not itself wet, but can make other solid materials wet.” That being said, in this persons eyes, water is not wet. Therefore the ocean is not wet and neither are lakes and rivers. But, if water is spilt on something it is then wet, but not the water. According to most people, water is wet, it is a basic characteristic of water.

Richard Saykally, a chemist has this to say about the subject, “the proper answer is: strong tetrahedral hydrogen bonding.” That means two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to oxygen and two attached by hydrogen bonds.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Tetrahedral Hydrogen Bonding describes the way the atoms lock onto each other and how they make up waters characteristics. [/perfectpullquote]

Whether an object is wet or dry depends on a balance between cohesive and adhesive forces. Cohesive forces cause a tendency in liquids to resist separation. These attractive forces exist between molecules of the same substance. But Adhesive Forces  is defined as the force of attraction between different substances, such as glass and water. This explains how water wets certain surfaces and therefore it would not be possible to wet water because it is already wet. Or in some other peoples eyes, they see it as water is already wet and will just get other things wet.

If we define “wet” as a sensation that we get when a liquid comes in contact with us, then yes, water is wet to us. But, If we define “wet” as “made of liquid or moisture”, then water is definitely wet because it is made of liquid, and in this sense, all liquids are wet because they are all made of liquids. I think that this is a case of a word being useful only in appropriate contexts.

The Opposing View

It is stated as plain as can be on the website, The Guardian. “Water isn’t wet. Wetness is a description of our experience of water; what happens to us when we come into contact with water in such a way that it impinges on our state of being.” The person who wrote this article is a firm believer in water not being wet in the sense of it being in the ocean, lake, or river, or even in a glass. They think it is only when it is spilt. Any fluid could be said to be wet if wetness is a result of the sensation caused by the movement of a fluid over the skin.

The article also mentions thinking about when you have your hand submerged in water. You can’t feel the sensation of your hand being wet.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] You can’t feel the sensation of your hand being wet.[/perfectpullquote]

Or even when a drop of water on your skin doesn’t feel wet.

Another researcher from the previously cited source says this, “Water is wet, in the sense of being a liquid which flows easily, because its viscosity is low, which is because its molecules are rather loosely joined together.”

Another Scientist tries to explain why it feels the way it does on our skin, “The reason it feels as it feels when water touches the skin is actually a complex electro-chemical reaction which works at amazing speeds.”

As stated in the source above, new information brought up by scientists shows that water does not act like any other liquid until there are more than six molecules present. For most things, there are way more than six and until the exact amount of water to itself or to other substances can be shown scientifically, then both answers could be wrong or right, it just depends on which side has the better evidence, more scientists believe water is wet than not based on the research above. As stated by The Guardian, ¨by the definition of wet, which is the condition of being covered or soaked in liquid, then water isn’t wet, it just makes other things wet¨.

Conclusion

So as you can see, many people have their different opinions lots have to do with science and others have to do with

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Water is Wet[/perfectpullquote]

plain opinions and what they believe to be true. This leaves it up to you. Do you think water is wet, or do you have a completely different opinion?

Featured Image By: avocadogirlfriend on Flickr