Re: Is a single molecule of water wet?

I have been given your question from the Mad Scientist Organization and have been attempting to find a good answer for you. Up until now, I haven't been able to come up with anything that you probably don't already know. I'm not sure there is enough information to answer your question here, but here are a few tips. What I do know: Water is wet only between 0-100 degrees. The crytal lattice that is formed during freezing locks the atoms together so that they only vibrate back and forth. This does not allow them to slide across each other like they do in a liquid. In a gas, they are, of course, not locked and do everything they can to avoid each other becuase of their extremely high energies. In liquids, the energy is at just the right level to allow some attraction but not too much energy to repel each other like a gas. The answer lies in the definition of a liquid. Back to the question. Is one molecule considered "wet"? I think your thoughts about having only one molecule speaks for itself. The ability to glide over each other as liquid molecules do, requires two. As they say, it takes two to tango. In this case, it takes two to be a liquid. To best understand these phenonema one needs a lesson in liquidity. If I were you, I would investigate this and I am sorry I am not familiar here. Here are further suggestions:"ASK ANTOINE" - a really neat chemistry page: You might rephrase your real question to "What makes a liquid a liquid?". I would also encourage simply running a search for "Chemistry + Liquids". As always, thanks for submitting your question, and keep thinking! Hope I've been of some help at least.