Key facts
- Category
- Molecules
- Object class
- Molecule
- Scale fact
- 270 pmmaximum extent
- Composition
- H2O
Water Molecule
270 pmmaximum extent
Visual creditscaleofspace.org / CC BY-NC 4.0
Details
Water is a small bent molecule found throughout space. Astronomers have detected its vapor or ice in star-forming regions, planet-forming disks, comets, and debris around other stars, making it part of planetary chemistry long before it reaches a world like Earth.
A water molecule is bent, so the electric dipoles of its two oxygen-hydrogen bonds do not cancel. The resulting polarity lets neighboring molecules form hydrogen bonds. Those intermolecular links—not the formula H2O by itself—help explain why water behaves unusually for such a small molecule, including its relatively high boiling point and the open crystal structure of ice.
Links
- Wikipedia
- Water Molecule on Wikipedia
Size neighbors
Objects near Water Molecule on the scale
On the logarithmic size axis, Water Molecule falls between Hydrogen Atom and Cesium Atom. The band uses nearby Molecules records.
Shared physical scale
841pm
Sources
References for Water Molecule
Measurements and descriptive context are compiled by the Scale of Space team from the references below. If you find an error, please let us know.
- Water Molecule — Wikipedia
- Visual: scaleofspace.org / CC BY-NC 4.0
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About
Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.
Guides explain selected parts of that range, while focused views filter the objects by subject.