Autothixotropy of Water and its Possible Importance for the Cytoskeletal Structures

The article deals with newly observed phenomenon in water that was called 'the autothixotropy of water'. A history of the phenomenon is connected with very fine gravimetric measurements which were made by author in years 1978 till 1986. Autothixotropy is a very weak macroscopic phenomenon that is observed in water that has remained at rest for a certain time (in tens of hours or days). For the experiments distilled water was used, re-boiled before use. The phenomenon is manifested by force (mechanical resistance) to the immersed body in water with a tendency of changing its position. The static and dynamic methods were used for the research. With the static method a moment of force is measured that is necessary for a very distinctive turn of a stainless steel plate hung up on a thin filament and immersed in standing water. With a certain angular torsion of the filament a certain moment of force is achieved when a state of stress reaches a critical value in water which is demonstrated with an expressive changing of angular position of the plate. When the direction of moment of force is changed, it is reflected in the differential rotation of the angle plate (the phenomenon of hysteresis was observed). The phenomenon of autothixotropy expires after a certain time, if water is mechanically mixed or re-boiled. It is significant that the phenomenon of the autothixotropy is not present in deionised distilled water. When using a dynamic method both oscillations of the plate and a very slow fall of a small ball in standing water was observed. The autothixotropy of water can be explained by a hypothesis of a cluster formation by H₂O molecules in standing water. As the phenomenon of autothixotropy is not present in deionised water, it may be primarily caused by a presence of ions in water, as it was demonstrated in the experiment with a salt solution (NaCl). Biophysical applications of the autothixotropy of water remain open. Some possible applications of the phenomenon in an organization of water in cytoskeletal structures are outlined.