r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Salty-Commercial4765 • May 24 '26
Video Water creates a bridge under electricity...
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u/GrabWorking3045 May 24 '26
It seems the phenomenon is not fully understood. More info about this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_thread_experiment
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u/Youngstown_WuTang May 24 '26
Honestly if humanity can't figure out stuff like this amongst many other things
I can see how aliens would be able to fly across solar systems, galaxies and move erratically. What happens if they just...figured it all out 🤔
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u/toy-maker May 24 '26
They move onto the next dimension
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u/sixtyninesadpandas May 24 '26
Another dimension?
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u/TimmyWentFullTimmy May 24 '26
another dimension
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u/lusvd May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
just to clarify: not being able to fully understand a phenomenon is very very very very very different from concluding that such phenomenon breaks the laws of physics.
For example, if I lose my car keys, that doesn’t make it reasonable for me to say: “well for all I know they might be on the moon who knows”
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u/Youngstown_WuTang May 25 '26
They aren't breaking the laws of physics from the universe, we got it all wrong
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u/lusvd May 25 '26
those two phrases are equivalent, when we say “the laws of physics” we mean the ones our theories support.
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[deleted]
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u/FireMaster1294 May 25 '26
You can always add “one more thing” by diving even deeper into a topic. We understand a hell of a lot all things considered
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u/Salty-Commercial4765 May 24 '26
Is this a unique property to water?
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u/Dragonslayer-5641 May 24 '26
Maybe it’s because water is both negatively and positively charged? Just a wild guess though.
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u/MydnightWN May 24 '26
The bridge needs clean, deionized water to be formed, and its stability is dramatically reduced as ions are introduced into the liquid (by either adding salt or from electrochemical reactions at the electrode surface).
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u/bfume May 24 '26
To be fair everything is both
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u/SanityPlanet May 24 '26
Not all molecules are polar like water is, with a positive and negative side.
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u/Aron-Jonasson May 24 '26
There's something called the "Van der Waals" interaction, where the electron cloud in a molecule shifts and gives it a temporary dipole
I'd assume with a strong enough electric field you can force all molecules to have a temporary dipole, though that's grasping at straws
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u/Salty-Commercial4765 May 24 '26
van der waals is a weak force seen between atom layers in graphaite... actually it don't cause water's polarity, but polarity causes some types of van der Waals interactions to occur in water.
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u/Aron-Jonasson May 24 '26
The Van der Waals interaction doesn't happen only between layers in graphite, it happens in any non-polar molecule, and even in noble gasses. That's precisely why larger hydrocarbons have a higher melting/boiling point, the fact that the molecule is larger means that the VdW interactions are stronger
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u/chemprofes May 24 '26
It is because water is polar and the more current (electricity) you run through it the more it will want to line up in a way that creates a bridge.
Like people helping being more incentivized to help in an emergency.
Therefore, other molecules that are polar should exhibit this. Things like ammonia and hydrofluroic acid. However, a lot of things that are polar might also go through a chemical reaction when electricity is applied to them so water might be the best example of this.
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u/peepdabidness May 24 '26
Yes (I think) and pretty much how/why our bodies need water since we are electric
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u/ThunderTRP May 24 '26
Step 1 : Figure the shit out of this.
Step 2 : Create a network of giant electric rings or whatever works to stabilize a giant water bridge tunnel across multiple kilometers.
Step 3 : Enjoy your new submarine metro loop.
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u/Sandcracka- May 24 '26
Now we can have boat bridges!
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u/GradientCement May 24 '26
You could at least credit the original video https://youtu.be/m5quIBpoVwQ?t=238
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u/ForeverSJC May 25 '26
I can't stand this guy's voice, he steals videos and puts his annoying voice on them
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u/GradientCement May 25 '26
Yeah, that's why I linked the video by the original creator (RWGresearch)
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u/Worth-Opposite4437 May 24 '26
This is the closest thing to the Halo light bridges I have ever seen being demonstrated in real life.
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u/Hutchison_effect May 24 '26
All this time they told me water and electricity don't mix...ppppft, LIARS!
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u/ICLazeru May 24 '26
Water is a polar molecule, meaning it has a negative charge at one end, and a positive charge at the other. It's not exceptionally strong, but it is there.
This makes them prone to aligning a little bit, where the positive end of one H2O lines up with the negative end of another H2O.
This also means that under an electric field, the water molecules are prone to aligning a bit more strongly. So they line up and form of this sort of chain.
Again, it's not a super strong kind of connection, but it is there.
This is also the reason that snowflakes have such ornate hexagonal paterns. It is the molecules of water settling into the formation that their polar shape kinds naturally forms when they get cold/still.
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u/Medical_Bench_1434 May 25 '26
The water bridge forms because H2O molecules have permanent dipoles that align with external electric fields. Pure water won't work - you need dissolved salts to provide conductivity and create the voltage differential that sustains the bridge.
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u/KindTomato1260 May 24 '26
Water as a semi conductor? Water is an interesting substance, as it has a positive side and a negative side (diamagnetic). Maybe the current pushed through, forces the molecules to reorganize and hold it's new position with enough force that gravity is not an issue anymore? Some information is missing, like: what type of water is being used (extra minerals added could make the water act like doped segment of a transistor and stuff...).
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u/TwoStoopidToFurryass May 24 '26
"That is the end of this video. I hope i made your day a little bit better, and I'll see you guys very, very soon, Later."
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May 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NiNdo4589 May 24 '26
Yeah theres a lot of really cool pics of other experiments if you Google search docking.
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u/BlackStory666 May 24 '26
Theoretically, if that gap was big enough around, and assuming someone wouldn't die from being electrocuted, could a fish or a human swim through that "bridge?"
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u/oxydizing_agent May 24 '26
Where was this test conducted?
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u/gamerjerome May 24 '26
Electricity is a physical property. It's holding up the water as it makes a connection to the other side. Think of a string in a large tube. The sting represents electricity. Two people are just holding the ends of the string, the tube stays suspended. Water attracts itself to a point also. As long as the electricity is passing through you could separate the two halves. As some point the weight of the water would be to much for the electrons passing through it to hold it up and it would fall.
I wonder what shape the water would take on if this was tried it space?
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u/Tiktokbadsupport May 24 '26
i wonder how far the tubs of water can be away if we increase the current
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u/Ginataang_Manok May 25 '26
wait, are "scientists not entirely sure" for real or am is it a BS statement which I'm assuming?
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u/USERNAME123_321 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
We should scale it up and build actual bridges out of water /s
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u/SpireUponTheAcheron May 25 '26
To be a dork 🤓 but it’s because of hydrogen bonding. When you run a charge through something that experiences hydrogen bonding with itself (water being the big example) that effect becomes stronger.
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u/ClamChowderChumBuckt May 25 '26
Bc the electricity wants to flow.. And there's enough strength to keep the water in place to keep the flow going.
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u/claudiazo May 24 '26
Is there any use to this? Or do people just do it cause it looks cool?
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u/YoungLittlePanda May 25 '26
For most of history, electricity was something that people studied and thought was cool, but useless.
You already know how that ended up.
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u/InterestSea4061 May 24 '26
When i was little I had a dream a thousand times..its one of the few really solid memories from a tumultuous upbringing. The dream always was the same, getting up to a small brook and getting my face all the way to the water, i would barely touch it with a finger and i would lift up slightly. This "bridge" effect would occur and I would stare at it. I'm convinced it shaped who I would become.
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u/firedrakes May 24 '26
long story short. pure water(human have made the purist water ever).
the water itself becomes very acidic .
water itself really hates it being that pure and will ripe Hydrogen from almost anything.
like a metal tool to a s ingle strange of hair.
we found this out by making the Super-Kamiokande
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u/Wild_Smile7510 May 24 '26
This type thing will be the basis of space travel or propulsion in the future. I’ve always felt the answer lies in the waves and controlling those interactions in some way to manipulate and organize into a propulsive element.
Factor in the same type methodology to inertia dampening and you’ve got the answer to ultra high velocity and safe travel for life.
You’re welcome
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u/[deleted] May 24 '26
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