The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor

From the Inside Flap Ever wonder... What mysteries lurk in the depths of a glass of water? What makes the wispy clouds of vapor rising from your cup of hot coffee? Or the puffy white clouds hovering in the sky? Why do the bubbles in your pop get bigger the longer you wait? What keeps Jell-O's water from oozing out? Why does your tongue stick to something frozen? And why don't your joints squeak? Questions such as those have remained unanswered not only because they have seemed complex, but also because they require that scientists pursue a politically risky domain of science: water research. Scientists trying to understand the "social behavior" of H20 do so at grave risk to their reputations and livelihoods because water science has suffered repeated fiascos. Water scientists have been virtually tarred and feathered. Undaunted, one scientist has navigated the perils of water science by conducting dozens of simple, carefully controlled experiments and piecing together the first coherent account of water's three dimensional structure and behavior. Professor Pollack takes us on a fantastic voyage through water, showing us a hidden universe teeming with physical activity that provides answers so simple that any curious person can understand. In conversational prose, Pollack relentlessly documents just where some scientists may have gone wrong with their Byzantine theories, and instead lays a simple foundation for understanding how changes of water structure underlie most energetic transitions of form and motion on Earth. Pollack invites us to open our eyes and re-experience our natural world, to take nothing for granted, and to reawaken our childhood dream of having things make sense. " The most interesting science book I've ever read. It has shown me that it's still possible to establish something genuinely new in science." Zhiliang Gong, University of Chicago. " The most significant scientific discovery of this century. What strikes me above all is the elegant simplicity of [Pollack's] experimental approach. Many of the experiments can be done on the kitchen table, and you don't even need a microscope to see the results." Mae-Wan Ho, Author, Living Rainbow H2O; Director, Institute of Science and Society, London. " Dr. Pollack is one of the pioneers in this field , and his discoveries can be expected to have important implications." Brian Josephson, Nobel Laureate, Cambridge University. " Fantastic material with revolutionary insights. What impresses me most is that the experiments are visually instantly accessible." Helmut Roniger, Consulting physician " I blame Pollack for my chronic loss of sleep during the past week. Devouring his book has inspired in me a whole new burst of enthusiasm for science." Jason Gillen, Massage therapist, Sydney Australia. " The most original thinker I have ever met. " Csaba Galambos, University of Colorado " Einstein has got nothing on Pollack. Pollack has the uncanny ability to pinpoint the right questions and grasp the simple ideas." Capt. T.C. Randall, Author, Forbidden Healing " This is like getting new glasses! xa0The clarity is astounding. " Charles Cushing, Independent Scientist " Unputdownable. " Nigel Dyer, University of Warwick, UK. " As good a page-turner as a Dan Brown novel. ... this book has a folksy style that I know will be very popular." David Anick, Harvard University " By Chapter 5 I was spellbound. By the end I was so captivated by the implications that I wished I could begin again in science and follow the new path this work has shaped." Kathryn Devereaux, Science writer, UC Davis " With balance and grace, Pollack seems to have come closest to presenting a 'unified field' vision of matter through the lens of water." John Fellows, Independent Scientist " This amazing book has changed my understanding of all the processes going on in water which I was confident I knew about -- the understanding that dictated my many years of teaching and organized my research. xa0I must now come to terms with the demonstration that water is not just a medium in which physics and chemistry happen, but a machine that powers and manages physics and chemistry." Martin Canny, Australian National University " Brilliant! Read the last chapter first." Molly McGee, University of Washington Professor Gerald Pollack is Founding Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal, WATER and is recognized as an international leader in science and engineering. The University of Washington Faculty chose Pollack, in 2008, to receive their highest annual distinction: the Faculty Lecturer Award. He was the 2012 recipient of the coveted Prigogine Medal for thermodynamics of dissipative systems. He has received an honorary doctorate from Ural State University in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and was more recently named an Honorary Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Member of the Srpska Academy. Pollack is a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He recently received an NIH Director's Transformative R01 Award for his work on water, and maintains an active laboratory in Seattle.Pollack's interests have ranged broadly, from biological motion and cell biology to the interaction of biological surfaces with aqueous solutions. His 1990 book, Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion, won an “Excellence Award” from the Society for Technical Communication; his subsequent book, Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life, won that Society's “Distinguished Award.” Pollack is recognized worldwide as a dynamic speaker and a scientist willing to challenge any long-held dogma that does not fit the facts. Read more