Physicist Revises Theory of Water

Water may not be what you think it is. According to Gerald J. Holton, assistant professor of Physics, the classic idea that water is made up of loose molecules, like a pile of marbles, is wrong.

Holton has been squeezing liquids with a powerful hydraulic press, and yesterday announced the theory that water is really a network of crystals, families of molecules linked together.

The old concept worked for most practical purposes, but it didn't explain why sound waves were absorbed by the liquid. By sending sound waves through pure water under pressure of 180,000 pounds per square inch an clocking their speed. Holton found that they travelled faster than through water under normal pressure, and are not as easily absorbed. This gives definite clues to the structure of water.

The exact structure of water and other liquids is a mystery to scientists. There has been no theory that the scientific world accepts as a final explanation of the behavior of liquids under various conditions. Holton believes, after his experiments are completed, he can prove that his theory is correct.

Holton has only had to work with pressures up to 12,000 atmospheres, which would compare with the pressure of water 80 miles below the surface of an ocean. Actually, the deepest part of the ocean floor is only about six miles below the surface.