Old jokes are often reformulated or told to up and coming humans that have yet to suffer the dullness of such comedy.

The oxide of hydrogen rains down on us and freezes leading to slips and falls. The damage to eyesight is real though. Many a victim has put a cup of tea into a microwave and the super-heated liquid ‘exploded’ when they took it out. Always take care if you make tea in a microwave. Twenty seconds, check, then another twenty at most before you check again.

The molecular mass of water is 18.

The molecular mass of oxygen is 32.

Yet despite oxygen being nearly twice as ‘heavy’ as water, it is only water that is liquid at room temperature. Oxygen will stay a gas until around -183 degrees Celsius. The wonder of structure. The wonder of basic building blocks. The arrangement of those building blocks dictates what temperature the bundle freezes, liquefies, or turns into a gas. The same building blocks are in each.

Oxygen and hydrogen are made from the same stuff.

Damp air is lighter, less dense, than dry air. Pilots factor this in when taking off in humid weather. They reduce the load if need be.

A hydrogen atom in one water molecule attaches itself like a magnet to the oxygen in a neighbouring water molecule. They join together in a unison of sorts. One oxygen atom bonds with another oxygen atom to form O2 but each oxygen molecule has no bond to other oxygen molecules. The interplay between water molecules increases the boiling point and the freezing point. It also plays a part in the formation of snowflakes.

Ice melts under pressure. An ice skater takes advantage of that phenomenon. A thin layer of melted water is created by the pressure of the skate. A thinner skate blade will create more pressure.

If you interfere with the interplay between each water molecule, what happens?

If you put a chemical such as salt in the water perhaps? The salt reduces the strength of those water-water bonds. They get physically in the way, harming the bond between each water molecule. Water containing salt freezes at a lower temperature than pure water as a result. Impurities interfere with the keen intra-water bonding. Intra – between. It is given a fancy name. Intra molecular hydrogen bonding. Bonds between neighbouring molecules.

Does water always boil at 100 degrees Celsius?

No, the boiling point depends on the pressure. If you heat water at a high altitude it may boil at 70 degrees Celsius. The more pressure applied, the more magnetic each water molecule becomes to one another. However, earlier I said that water melts when under pressure. It all depends on which side of the temperature curve you are at. As a general rule water is most compact at 4 degrees Celsius.

Water molecules that find themselves at the top of a pool fight with one another to grab a partner to two. They have nothing above, so the fight is fierce below. It creates a tension. Surface tension which many an insect utilises to walk on water.

If you find religious pilgrimages naff, as many do, try a geographical physical pilgrimage instead. Experience for yourself the wonder of numbers. How the position of numbers makes such a difference to how things are. How they make wonderful things happen. The dead sea can be your first port of call. Bathe. Float. The interstitial salt molecules, salt molecules squeezed in between the water molecules vastly increases the waters density.

Water is numbers and the interplay between numbers. A number of building blocks in each atom arranged in a specific way. Those numbers are not placed. They fall into a crevice of sorts holding them in place. Stability. We see a parallel with Lego. People can build strong structures by placing the right pieces in the best configuration. Water is nature’s Lego.

One could image a scenario whereby odd numbers have an attraction to other odd numbers to make them even. Even being more stable than odd. An item with an odd number of building blocks is attracted to another item with an odd number of building blocks. Or two items with an odd number of building blocks fill a pair in a gap of an odd number. Maybe an item with six already in place is much more stable with eight so takes an odd ‘spare’ from two others.

Numbers are all in the game of universe building. Simple numbers and the result of structures that form with enough blocks available. Two hydrogen atoms form a gas. Two oxygen atoms bond to from a gas. Two hydrogen and one oxygen atoms bond to from a liquid at room temperature. Numbers binding akin to having eight instead of nine. With nine you form a complete square. That gives you an idea – it is representative of how things are in our universe.