MOLECULES: water, H₂O

(above) water image # 1: picture showing a water molecule on a black background. This image is 500 x 500 pixels; the original image is 2048 x 2048 pixels.

In the molecule, the central oxygen atom (red) is pictured as a sphere drawn at the scale of its covalent radius just touching two hydrogen atoms (green) drawn at the scale of their covalent radii. The blue halo represents the "surface" of each molecule and is created from the van der Waals radii of the constituent atoms.

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(above) water image # 2: picture showing a water molecule on a black background (oxygen van der Waals surface emphasised in red). This image is 500 x 500 pixels; the original image is 2048 x 2048 pixels.

In the molecule, the central oxygen atom (red) is pictured as a sphere drawn at the scale of its covalent radius just touching two hydrogen atoms (green) drawn at the scale of their covalent radii. The blue halo represents the "surface" of each molecule and is created from the van der Waals radii of the constituent atoms.

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EXPLANATION OF WATER IMAGES

WATER MOLECULE KEY:
• red spheres = oxygen (O)
• green spheres = hydrogen (H)
• blue bubble = "surface" of the molecule created from the individual van der Waals surfaces

Water: water consists of one oxygen atom covalently joined to two hydrogen atoms. H₂O is a highly polarised molecule which leads to hydrogen bonding among the molecules. All of these images are pictures of highly simplified models.