tB U SW ELL A N I3 K .
O D EB U SK
Z-RAY DIFFRACTION pliotojrraph of ice was made with a preces-
sion camera by I. Fankucheri and his colieasues ai the Polytechnic
of water and literaliv floats in water.
Consiaering how predominantiv li\dng
matter is made up of this fluid, the exteni
to which it raices on a solid shape is sur-
prising indeed.
\Vater plays a fundamental role in the
proíein moiecuie. the basic material of
living matcer. Proteins have a structure
v-'hich places them in íhe class of sub-
stances known to chemists as plastics, In
orasr thai a plástic rnsv possess fiesibil-
it\' and other desirable phvsical urooer-
C i. i.
ües. it must contara a fluid calied a plas-
ticizsr. \"."ater is a ''piasticízer" íor pro-
tein;. In the chainlike protein moiecuie
the hvdroeren bonds of water Drcvjde
secondarv linlcs wiiich n?: íhe. rjattsrn of
ths rnoieoule. Fiernoval of water alterf
Instituía of Brooklyn. The position of the spots in the photosraph is
related to the symmeíry of the crystal (see diagrams or. rissi pagei..
íhe pattem and "denatures" the proteiri.
Fortunateiv the crocess is reversible, so
^ 4. -
thaí water in the cells can restore the
pattem. On the other hand. the hydro gen
bonds of hydrides other than water, such
as amrnonia or hydrosen oyanidí, form a
stable denatured connguration vvhich
freezes the proíein in a dead pat tem. This
is why ali the hydrides escept water are
extreinely toxic. Their acíion is somsv-
r
hat luce that of a virus, which corrupta
the írue protein structure inte a strange
disíorted pattern,
Water ''s Structure
To understanc the behavior of wr.ter
ve must unáerstaná its structure. li is
far from simple. The besi approach is a
stuáy of the structure of ice. Ths ar-
rangemsnt of the oxygen and hydrogen
atoms in ths ice crystal has bsen deter-
míned bv X-rays and other means. The
two hvdrogens are bondeci to'lhe oxygen
approximately at rishí angies to each
other. more esactly. at an angle of 105
degress isec illustraiions orí
pase 75}. aecrees, tne
trie ancle were
frozen water molecuies would icrrn a
cubic lattice. as ir. the diamonci cr-'stal.
Bui ir. íhi; case such a structure v.'ouid be
unstable because of the strain or ; the
distortsd bonds. The esací arrangement of
the méllenles ir, ths ice crystal is not
kriov/n vith certaintv: v ;s ¡:no^- that thev
form s hesaeonai struoíurs.