BCH 4024 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Thermal Mass, Gravitational Energy, Overburden

• School: University of Florida
• Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Course: BCH 4024
• Professor: Daniel L Purich

Document Summary

Tides, wind, ocean currents, erosion & runoff. 40-50% of earth"s heat comes from radioactive decay. Steady-state (balanced accrual and loss of energy) Water is so polar that interactions between/among water molecules are strong. Giving it one of the highest heat capacities of any known substance. Stable interaction occurring when 2 electronegative atoms share one h-atom. Lifetime of a h-bond = 1-20 picosec. In liquid water, h-bonds are relentlessly made and broken. Liquid water is thus a flickering collection of w5 with extremely little, if any, w1. Stronger when all three atoms are aligned. **h-bonding gives liquid water so much stability that it must be heated to 100 degrees c to break all h-bond interactions. Each h2o molecule can form up to 4 h-bonds. Liquid h2o has 3. 4 h-bonds on average. Thermal mass- resistance to changes in temperature. High bp relative to its molecular weight. Compare to -161. 5 degrees c for methane. High viscosity relative to its molecular weight.