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Physical Science of Water

Author(s): David R. Caprette, PhD

Some Advantages of Water's Unique Structure

Water has been called the universal solvent. That isn’t entirely true, since if it really was a universal solvent it would dissolve any container that we used to try to hold it. 

It is a very versatile solvent, though. Part of the reason is that it interacts electrostatically with charged molecules, including ions from acids, bases, and salts. It can also dissolve other polar molecules that aren’t necessarily charged.