Since the water molecule is an electrostatic dipole, it seems possible,
especially in the presence of a strong electrostatic gradient, to get a
chain of the form:
H H H H H H H H H H
/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /
O O O O O O O O O O ...
\ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \
H H H H H H H H H H
Where "/" and "\" represents a shared electron in the constituant H2O
molecule, and "." represents an ionic bond. Such a molecule might be put
together in a strong gradient, and in fact Bill Beaty may have already
observed such a chain, or collection of chains, created from water
vapor at
the tip of a high voltage needle.
Note that you would expect the hydrogen atoms in alternate units of the
polymer chain to be at right angles to each other, i.e. lying entirely in
the plane "out of the page" toward the viewer. A better drawing might
be:
H H H H H H
/ . / . / . / . / . / .
O O-H.O O-H.O O-H.O O-H.O O-H.O O-H. ...
\ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \ .
H H H H H H
Multiple chains of the above structure could be weakly ionically bound
laterally.
It is an interesting question as to whether the covalent and ionic bonds
might be able to swap along the chain, or even reach a kind of
indeterminate quasi-state where each of the bonds is indeterminate as to
type. Such a molecule might even be a weak proton conductor, with the
H's
being able to swap down the chain. This form of conduction might even
form
in an electrolyte, and would be distingusihed from the kind discussed by
Bockris, i.e. protron tunneling from an H3O+ to H2O molecule, follwed by
the rotation of the the H3O+ molecule, by the fact that no transverse
magnetic field could be expected from the molecule rotation stage of the
conduction.
I guess it seems more likely that an O.H-O.H- ... chain would be able to
conduct electrons, if the bonds are indeterminate. Since such
non-Faradaic
conduction is not seen to a large extent in electrolytes, the polywater
chain likely can not readily form in electroytes, or if formed, can not
conduct electrons, and thus the nature of the ionic and covalent bonds
remains fixed.
Just mumbling out loud.
Regards,
Horace Heffner
