Can an electrically induced phase transition occur in room temperature liquid water?
Liquid matter represents a significant challenge to our current notions of how matter and energy organize. The interplay between a very high number of similar particles with overlapping but diverse energy states poses a problem in that it obscures both non-trivial dynamics and structure behind the curtain of the isotropic homogeneous limit -- a hypothetical limitation beyond which fluctuations are thought to 'cancel' and the bulk or macroscopic properties of the liquid emerges. Recent work on a class of non-equilibrium phenomena where liquids develop unusual and easily observable behavior such as flowing between two containers under the influence of an electric field have revealed that not only are there non-trivial interactions at intermediate length scales (i.e. mesoscale) but that there are demonstrable changes in the organization of such systems that indicate the onset of quantum control on continuum properties. In this talk we will examine experimental evidence for phonon mediated long range coherent dynamics in liquid water. A spontaneous breakdown in the rotational symmetry of the water dipole results in the formation of a mass-less boson that couples the EM field and the molecular dipoles. This results in polarization waves that act to dynamically focus charge into regions of liquid that propagate in the field. These regions can easily be visualized using shadowgraphy as the altered charge causes changes in the refractive index of the liquid. Furthermore, the underlying phonon modes can be observed as low frequency side bands appearing on the asymmetric stretch of free OH groups in the water hydrogen bonding network. Such findings reveal that it is possible to not only establish long-range order in liquid matter, but that the resulting perturbations exhibit well defined topology and locality. These findings provide both experimental and theoretical inroads to establishing physical control of mesostates in liquid matter, and could signal the beginning of a new technological capacity akin to the way bio-molecules shape the local aqueous environment to improve reaction efficiencies in living matter.Liquid matter represents a significant challenge to our current notions of how matter and energy organize. The interplay between a very high number of similar particles with overlapping but diverse energy states poses a problem in that it obscures both non-trivial dynamics and structure behind the curtain of the isotropic homogeneous limit -- a hypothetical limitation beyond which fluctuations are thought to 'cancel' and the bulk or macroscopic properties of the liquid emerges. Recent work on a class of non-equilibrium phenomena where liquids develop unusual and easily observable behavior such as flowing between two containers under the influence of an electric field have revealed that not only are there non-trivial interactions at intermediate length scales (i.e. mesoscale) but that there are demonstrable changes in the organization of such systems that indicate the onset of quantum control on continuum properties. In this talk we will examine experimental evidence for phonon mediated long range coherent dynamics in liquid water. A spontaneous breakdown in the rotational symmetry of the water dipole results in the formation of a mass-less boson that couples the EM field and the molecular dipoles. This results in polarization waves that act to dynamically focus charge into regions of liquid that propagate in the field. These regions can easily be visualized using shadowgraphy as the altered charge causes changes in the refractive index of the liquid. Furthermore, the underlying phonon modes can be observed as low frequency side bands appearing on the asymmetric stretch of free OH groups in the water hydrogen bonding network. Such findings reveal that it is possible to not only establish long-range order in liquid matter, but that the resulting perturbations exhibit well defined topology and locality. These findings provide both experimental and theoretical inroads to establishing physical control of mesostates in liquid matter, and could signal the beginning of a new technological capacity akin to the way bio-molecules shape the local aqueous environment to improve reaction efficiencies in living matter.