Why is pure water clear???

Question

...tom science

Answer 1

Pure water is a transparent, colorless, tasteless, odorless, compound of hydrogen and oxygen.

Answer 2

Pure water isn't clear.

That is, it distorts. Put a ruler in a cup of water and look at it from the top and the side. The resultant image of the ruler will be distorted.

Things are clear or opaque or colored depending on how they interact with visible light, which is a specific band of frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum.

All materials interact with electromagnetic waves and will absorb or severely distort them if they are of the correct frequency. This fact is harnessed by a spectrophotometer. Understanding how they work will cue you in on your question.

But it basically goes like this: because of the nature of the molecules that compose water, they don't absorb the frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that visible light spans. Therefore they let light pass through. However, images are distorted by water because water effectively slows light down.

If something is not "clear" that is because the something absorbs electromagnetic radiation at the frequencies of visible light.

Hope that helps. If you would like me to clarify something, put it in the details. I'll check later.

Answer 3

It's clear because we need it to live.

Our eyes have adapted to see only the "visible" spectrum. This means that objects which don't allow visible light (~700nm to 400nm) through, but will allow others, we think are still opaque.

Bees and other insects for example, see in ultraviolet, so to them glass would be more opaque, or at least cloudy, because it blocks out ultraviolet light.

Dogs, since they have a keener set of nose and ears, don't see in color, because they don't have that need.

Water is vital to most creatures' survival, so we are better able to appreciate all of its properties. We can hear it well, see it, see through it, etc.

But look at it this way, walls, even thin ones, are opaque to us, but some animals which can see infra red radiation (700+nm) would be able to see something behind the wall as if the wall were "clear".


In short: It's not clear to us because of any of its own special properties, it's clear because we adapted to see the wavelength spectrum it allows light through.

Answer 4

It's not clear, the other colors just don't attenuate that quickly. If you looked through a long length of "pure" water it would appear blue to blue-green

Answer 5

the way is process to take away the sodium wich all water contains
gives it a clear pure look

Answer 6

it has chlorine n sodium particles whose size is very very small,
so it hardly deflects light passing through it and it appears clear.
u can check this by mixing sugar into the water

Answer 7

It's not! It filters out all the colors starting with the red.

Answer 8

Because it is composed only with Oxygen and Hydrogen.

Answer 9

Because it does'nt have any impurity!

Answer 10

pureness
abscence of impurities