Of all the treasures that we could talk about on earth, the
number one most valuable substance is water. Every living being requires water. As a
matter of fact, every living cell requires water.
The water molecule is so unique and special among all substances.
It is so finely tuned and ideally suited to foster the existence of life that
it is impossible to rationally conclude it was a cosmic accident. It is much
easier to accept that it was miraculously designed.
A
water molecule is totally different from the normal properties that would be
expected from the patterns of similar compounds in the Periodic Table of
Elements. Its freezing temperature and boiling point are way too high. It
should be a gas at room temperatures. It
should turn from ice to liquid at around -100°C (instead of 0°C) and then from liquid to gas at around
-80°C (instead
of 100°C). This
would mean almost all the water on Earth would not exist (and neither would
we).
Water is everywhere on Earth, covering 71% [1] of the
Earth’s surface. “Earth is the only known planet to have bodies of liquid water
on its surface.”[2] No other planet in the known universe has even the tiniest
fraction of this much water. Think about the implications of that truth and the
specialness of our “home” in the vast universe.
This much water allows for gigantic numbers of species to
live in the water, especially the tiny life giving organisms like algae and
plankton which produce a lot of the oxygen and nutrition for most species. “It
is estimated that marine plants produce between 70 and 80 percent of the oxygen
in the atmosphere.” [3]
What is the origin of water? It is so absolutely essential
to all life that without water there could never have been any life. The
properties of water are so chemically unusual and yet so absurdly complementary
and coordinated with life that it is impossible to conceive that this is an
accidental relationship. The most rational conclusion is that water and life
were designed.
All of your needs for Oxygen, down to the last cell, are
provided by the water in our blood. The way you get rid of Carbon Dioxide is
provided by water. Water does the same thing for plants, but in reverse.
Even the smallest variation in any of the properties of
water would be the end of us. It is all functioning miraculously on the tiniest
cellular level.
“If the angle between hydrogen atoms in the water molecule
were different, there would be no complex life-giving molecules, and no life on
earth.” [4]
This property is one of my favorites. When water freezes, it
expands. Only a small handful of other substances do that. But because it does
that, frozen water, i.e. ice, floats. The density of ice is almost ten times
lighter than liquid water. [5] If water were a normal compound, its frozen form
would sink. But imagine if ice were to sink, then in winter when all the lakes
would freeze, then the ice would sink to the bottom. Then new water on the top
of the lake would freeze and sink to the bottom. Soon the whole lake from the bottom
up would be frozen solid, killing all the fish and plants. When could it ever
thaw out? It would take a really long time if ever with the sun only melting
the ice on the surface. But fortunately that’s not what happens because of how
water is designed. The ice floats and actually provides a protective layer
against the cold for all life under the surface. Doesn’t that sound like it was
designed by a brilliant, loving intelligence that was concerned for the life it
created?
You probably realize cooler water sinks. This creates what
is called “stratification”. You might have noticed this when swimming in a
lake, that the water down deeper is colder. However, when water becomes ice it
rises to the top. This causes a churning effect in the spring and fall that
circulates and oxygenates the lake waters. That effect is very beneficial for
plant and animal life in the lakes. Also because the warmer water stays on top,
the sun’s heat cannot penetrate so deeply that it would harm the animal and
plant life below.
An important property of water due to hydrogen bonding is
called “cohesion”. The hydrogen atoms are constantly bonding and breaking bonds
in tiny fractions of a second. “Cohesion due to hydrogen bonding contributes to
the formation of waves and other water movements that occur in lakes. Water
movements are integral components of the lake system and play an important role
in the distribution of temperature, dissolved gases, and nutrients. These
movements also determine the distribution of microorganisms and plankton.” [6]
Water has a high degree of surface tension. This also
creates a protection effect, not only for lakes and oceans, but even in our own
bodies. “Water has a greater surface tension than all other liquids except
mercury.” [7] That surface tension is what makes water drops take the shape of
spheres. Water falling from the sky takes the shape of drops. These can act
like little bullets to penetrate and refresh plant life and the earth. They can
dissolve and wash away toxins. It mixes up soils and fertilizes. It erodes
rocks over time, making soil. It churns the oceans, benefitting fish and plant
life.
Water rains down to the earth to nourish all life. It then
flows towards streams and rivers to the sea where it evaporates and goes back
into the atmosphere to repeat the cycle. The unidirectional flow of water in
the evaporation/condensation cycle enables water all over the earth to
continuously cleanse itself and renew the earth and all forms of life.
When water is heated in hot climates, the water vapor can
carry large amounts of heat energy away to cooler locations and then release it
in the form of rain. This cools the hotter climates and warms the colder ones,
while at the same time refreshing and oxygenating the atmosphere.
"Water is called the ‘universal solvent’ because it
dissolves more substances than any other liquid. This means that wherever water
goes, either through the ground or through our bodies, it takes along valuable
chemicals, minerals, and nutrients." [8] This allows water to carry
nutrition throughout your body to every one of your 100 trillion cells. It also
allows the water to extract the waste products from your cells and carry them
to the organ that is designed to eliminate them.
Colloidal action is another special property of water. The
inherent vibration by the H2O molecules pushes around any dissolved
substances so they are evenly distributed throughout the water.
Capillary action and surface tension are also important
properties. This means that water goes into the tiniest of cracks and crevices
automatically. This makes your life so much easier because your heart does not
have to provide huge amounts of force to get your blood to circulate through
all the tiny capillaries to supply all your cells. Blood carries nutrients to
every cell in the bodies of all animals and then removes waste products. Water
in the sap in trees and plants carries nutrients for their life.
“Water also has the ability to pass through cell membranes
and climb great heights in plants and trees through osmosis and capillary
force. Osmotic pressure and capillary action enable water to climb hundreds of
feet to the tops of the highest trees. The mystery of osmosis enables plants to
feed, and plants and animals to carry on a multitude of life processes. Osmosis enables marine creatures to absorb
fresh water in an increasing salt-water environment.” [9]
Water has a highest heat capacity of any liquid, [10]
meaning it can absorb relatively huge amounts of heat. This means it is slow to
increase in temperature and to eventually boil. It also releases heat very
slowly. The whole planet and everything on it benefits from this. The sand on
the beach can get so hot you can’t walk on it, but the ocean stays cool and
doesn’t turn to steam.
The oceans keep our entire environment from getting way too
hot and conversely from getting way too cold. Water makes a “womb” for all life,
a protective habitat. It’s almost analogous to the female womb that lovingly
supports the growth of new life. Near large bodies of water, the winters are
warmer and the summers are cooler.
Because water can absorb great amounts of heat and our
bodies are mostly water, it means our body temperature is much easier to
regulate and there are not huge swings to deal with. Our body even has a
mechanism to release sweat that will evaporate from our skin taking heat with
it and keeping us cooler.
“"More energy is required to evaporate liquid water
than most other substances. To evaporate each gram of water at room
temperature, about 580 calories of heat are needed, which is nearly double the
amount needed to vaporize a gram of alcohol or ammonia." [11]
Water remains a liquid over a very large range (0°C to 100°C, 32°F to 212°F). Most
other substances have a much shorter range between solid and gaseous states.
This range allows life to exist over a large spectrum of temperatures.
One source noted that water has "at least twenty-one
anomalies, properties that the laws of chemistry and physics say it should not
have." [12]
This doesn’t cover all the amazing properties of water, but
let’s get to the point. Does this prove that God exists? Suppose every morning
when you wake up, you go outside your front door and there waiting for you is exactly
all the food and water that you will need for the day to live. The next day the
same. The day after that the same. It never fails. All your essential needs are
provided for in exactly the right proportions. If any of the ingredients were
to vary slightly, you would starve or die of thirst. Could this be just a
cosmic accident? The odds are so infinitesimally small as to be non-existent.
There must be God.
---------------------------------
[1] How much water is there on, in, and above the Earth? U.
S. Geological Survey http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html
[2] Are there oceans on other planets? National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U. S. Dept. of Commerce. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/et-oceans.html
[3] The Most Important Organism? http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/12/important-organism/
[4] Twenty Three Unique Properties of Water. http://www.intelligentdesigntheory.info/unique_properties_of_water.htm
[5] What happens to marine life when a lake or pond is frozen?
http://www.myuniversalfacts.com/2005/12/what-happens-to-marine-life-when-lake.html
[6] Student Reading - The Unique Properties of Water. (The
ensuing discussion is adapted from Campbell, N.A. 1996. Biology (4th edition)) http://www.waterontheweb.org/curricula/bs/student/water/unique.html
[7] Student Reading - The Unique Properties of Water. (The
ensuing discussion is adapted from Campbell, N.A. 1996. Biology (4th edition)) http://www.waterontheweb.org/curricula/bs/student/water/unique.html
[8] Water Properties and Measurements, U. S. Geological
Survey. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html
[9] Twenty Three Unique Properties of Water. http://www.intelligentdesigntheory.info/unique_properties_of_water.htm
[10] Water Properties and Measurements, U. S. Geological
Survey. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html
[11] Student Reading - The Unique Properties of Water. (The
ensuing discussion is adapted from Campbell, N.A. 1996. Biology (4th edition)) http://www.waterontheweb.org/curricula/bs/student/water/unique.html
[12] Twenty Three Unique Properties of Water. http://www.intelligentdesigntheory.info/unique_properties_of_water.htm
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