The Water Book

Title: The Water Book – The Extraordinary Story of Our Most Ordinary Substance

Author: Alok Jha

Publisher: Headline, 2015 (First)

ISBN: 9781472209559

Pages: 376

Water is so essential to human existence that we usually take it for granted. Not only man, all life forms are inalienably linked to it by the thread of absolute necessity. We can abstain from food for several days without much ill effects, but a few hours away from water will upset the neurological balance of the body. Life as we know it is a gift of water. All the metabolic processes in the cells of living beings take place in the medium of water. Presence of it on other planets is considered as a telltale sign of life itself. However, water is a highly reactive and corrosive substance chemically. How this peculiar chemical turned out to be the nectar of life? How water originated in the universe and on earth? What are the forms in which it is available on the face of the planet? These and other valid questions are answered in this book penned by Alok Jha. The author is of Indian origin and is settled in London. He is a science journalist and broadcaster working for Guardian and ITN. He was named European Science Writer of the Year in 2008 and has authored several books on popular science.

Water exhibits some very peculiar properties, which are nicely summarized in the book. There are a few effects such as Mpemba Effect, which is difficult to explain why. This effect is the property of hot water that freezes faster than cold water when both are placed in the same freezer at sub-zero temperatures. The molecular weight of water is very low, as it is a compound of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. This is lighter than even air, which is mostly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, in both of which the molecule consists of two atoms. Now, the strange part! Even though water is thus lighter than air, it is a liquid at room temperature whereas the heavier air is a gas! Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S), which is nearly twice the molecular weight of water, is also a gas! Similar is the case with ammonia. This was a paradox to the scientific world until the concept of hydrogen bonding was developed. Water is a polar liquid, with the two hydrogen atoms connected to the lone oxygen atom at an angle of 104 degrees with each other. These hydrogen atoms possess positive charge which induces attraction with nearby oxygen atoms that are negatively charged. This affinity is not as strong as the conventional covalent or ionic bonds, but sufficient enough to change its physical properties. This weak interaction with fellow molecules causes water to remain a liquid at normal temperatures. As we know, water is essential to life in the liquid form. If not for this quirk of water, life would not have existed on earth – at least, not in the way we are so familiar with. However, not all the water on earth is available for life. As per scientific estimates, only 1% of the terrestrial water is accessible to the flora and fauna as a liquid.

The book delves into the role of water in human societies. Man’s ability to form urban civilizations is crucially dependent on his capacity to exploit and control the sources of water. All civilizations and major towns took root on the shores of a large water body such as a river, lake or sea. The ancient Greek geographer Pausanius remarked that no city can call itself by that name if it can’t hoist an ornamental fountain in the centre of the city as a potent indicator of man’s control over water. This precious liquid was available in plenty for most of human history. However, with rapid urbanization and scarcity of supplies, water has assumed the role of a commodity that is no longer cheap. It is almost certain that most of the people living now would witness an eventuality in their lives in which water will be difficult to come by. This imperative calls for conservation of water. The book introduces the concept of water footprint for the material we consume in our daily lives. Originally formulated by Arjen Hoekstra, this idea links human consumption to the amount of water extracted from earth to produce that material. For example, the beef burger you eat was produced at the cost of about 1000 liters of water. The section on biosphere presents a gloomy picture of excessive water use without practical alleviation measures immediately at hand. 70% of the extracted water is utilized for agriculture and 20% for industry. With no path-breaking technology round the corner, consumption is sure to surge higher as the developing world gets industrialized fast. This prophecy of doom, however, is helpful only to create an image of pessimism. U.S. power plants are said to use 500 billion cubic meters of water for cooling alone in a year. Most of the power plants recycle cooling water for its processes and only a small amount of fresh water is required to be introduced into the closed system as makeup water. A lot of UN’s predictions about water scarcity in the coming decades are included, which are pessimistic as usual. Jha has included all issues of concern in the world in this discussion on water. Global warming and water conservation are only two among them. Here again, the observations proposed in favour of global warming may cause a smile on climate-skeptics’ faces. Traces of warming are undoubtedly seen in the Arctic and West Antarctic Peninsula, whereas ice cover has increased on other locations and the atmosphere in fact cooled a bit over the decades.

 Jha is a superb narrator of his experiences onboard the ship which took him to Antarctica. The discourse is witty and nicely recollects the bumpy sailing to the southernmost continent. The experiences midway and on reaching the destination is pleasant to read, but faithfully reproduce the deceptive perils that dot the path of Antarctic explorers. The book is divided into four sections on biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and space, with the travel to Antarctica forming an interesting backdrop to the story of water on these spheres of its existence. Unfortunately for the readers who expect a discussion more on the mundane and earthly aspects of the subject, the author reserves more than a third of the book to explore the possibility of locating water in other planets and even outside the solar system. Even though interesting owing to the exotic nature of the material, it seems irrelevant and a letdown for the more ordinary pursuits of water enthusiasts. Our probes have found definite presence of water in the Moon and Mars as ice, and we strongly suspect the occurrence of it on Titan and Enceladus – the natural satellites of Saturn. A brief introduction to the existence of water on exoplanets – planets that circle other stars outside the solar system – is given, but which is full of conjecture rather than fact. This is no doubt caused by the scarcity of reliable observation data. The temperature on these planets is no doubt much different than that of our pleasant terrestrial atmosphere. However, life can thrive on such places as well. Jha also presents such life-forms called extremophiles such as lichens, cyanobacteria and green algae. They thrive on geothermal vents under water at extreme temperatures and also in lakes beneath ice shelves in Antarctica. These forms are significant when we compare their habitat to the very difficult conditions available on other planets.

Though the book is generally pleasing to read, it wavers sometimes from the target and covers topics that are not strictly relevant to the main thread of the argument. The phase diagram of the transformation of water to ice at various pressures and temperatures provided on page 170 is a complicated one and most of the readers will fail to appreciate its significance. The book is endowed with a very comprehensive index and a good section of Notes and further references. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include an introduction to the author. Without the knowledge of his background and experience in the field, many readers would be confused whether to fully accept the arguments or to subject it to further review. A brief search on the internet will establish the credentials of the author.

The book is recommended. The book 'H₂O - A Biography of Water' by Philip Ball reviewed earlier in this blog is also a nice book for interested readers.

Rating: 3 Star