Quote:
Originally Posted by lumberjim
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It has to do with the tendency of water to chemically bond to other substances at a rate proportional to its temperature and the increase in volume. Lower density together with the higher rate of bonding causes hot water to release its heat at a faster rate than cold water. Water that starts hot continues to release its heat at a faster rate than cold water even when the hot water cools to the temperature of the cooler water because the bonding that occured at the higher temperature remains intact. Water reaches its maximum density at 4° C - just above zero and expands above or below this temp.
But for that 4°, there would be no life on earth.
Water, for its apparent simplicity, is one of the most complicated and least understood molecules in nature.