- Three times more abundant than all other substances
- One of few inorganic liquids
- Only substance that occurs naturally as a solid, liquid and gas
- Universal solvent
- Highest surface tension of all liquids except mercury
- Expands upon freezing (by 9%), a property shared with few other substances
- Expands with increasing temperature above 40C
- Greatest heat capacity of all liquids (1 cal/g/0C)
- Greatest latent heat of fusion and vaporization
- Greatest thermal conductivity except for mercury
- High transparency
- Like air, a highly mobile substance
- A dense liquid and therefore only slightly compressible
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