Fig. 1. A water molecule. The labels δ – and δ + reflect the distribution of the charges which are characteristic of the polarity of the water molecule. The “petals” denote the electron cloud of the two unseparated electrons of the oxygen atom.

Fig. 2. A water molecule is making full use of its centers for forming hydrogen bonds with the surrounding four water molecules. Each of the neighboring molecules can still form up to three hydrogen bonds.

Fig. 3. A five-molecule associate (Fig. 2) which is making full use of twelve of its centers for forming hydrogen bonds.

Fig. 4. Seventeen-molecule associate (Fig. 3) with six cycles.

Fig. 5. Part of Fig. 4 in the shape of the hemisphere of a dodecahedron.

Fig. 6. A model of a water associate made of 57 molecules. A tetrahedron made of four dodecahedrons (quanta). Each dodecahedron has 12 pentagonal faces, 30 edges, 20 vertices (each of which connects three edges; the vertices are oxygen atoms; the O-H…O hydrogen bond serves as an edge). Out of the 57 water molecules (quanta), 17 comprise an entirely hydrophobic (e.g. saturated with four hydrogen bonds) tetrahedral central framework, while there are 10 centers for forming hydrogen bonds (O-H or O) on each surface of the four dodecahedrons.

Fig. 7. Three-dimensional packing of water “quanta”. The faces’ interaction is only possible in a crisscross orientation. The elemental five (the fifth beyond the central five) and hexa-quanta formations are identified by dotted lines.

Fig. 8. A super-tetrahedron of five “quanta”. 4 tetrahedra pointed in different directions from the plane of the central tetrahedron in the shape of a “star”. The three borders pointed at the observer are located in a single place, forming a super-face. It is impossible to superimpose these planes with the crisscross orientation of each face.

Fig. 9. A cyclic formation made of six “quanta” is a “snowflake”. The three borders pointed at the observer are located in a single place, forming a super-face. It is impossible to superimpose these planes with the crisscross orientation of each face.

Fig. 10. A possible complementary superposition of the super-faces: an incomplete superposition for one type is “stars” (1) or “snowflakes” (2), and a complete superposition for super-faces of different types is “stars” and “snowflakes” (3), e.g. the formation of a triplet of complementary six-centered bonds. The super-face of a “snowflake” is located closer to the observer (highlighted in blue), while the super-face of the “star” is farther from the observer. Clearly, each triangle of the face of a “quantum” in the “snowflake” is in a crisscross orientation relative to each triangle of a face of a “quantum” in the “star”. Their intersection, where complementary bonds form, is designated by dots.

Fig. 11. The spatial configuration of various fractions of water when they interact. The super-tetrahedron of the “star” combines with the cycle of the “snowflake” according to the scheme indicated in Fig. 10-3. This figure shows the complementary interaction of the “super-faces” when the “star” approaches the “snowflake” from above (1), and below (2), illustrating the possibility of a subsequent ternary formation (“star” – “snowflake” – “star”).

Fig. 12. The combination of one six- and two five-quanta fractions in the structural element of water. The formation of new faces, including 4 faces each from “quanta”, is shown in a different color.

Fig. 13. A model of the structural element of water. A six-faced formation made of 912 (16×57) molecules of water with a face in the shape of a rhombus with an acute 60° angle. On each face, the 24 centers for forming hydrogen bonds are conditionally joined to each other in six-centered cycles.

Fig. 14. The arrangement of structural elements in a cell of water. The faces least capable of external interaction with zero net charge form the cell’s cloud.

Fig. 15. A diagram of the areas of positive and negative charges in the structural element of water. The arrows show the motion of these charges when the structural element is rotated relative to its center of mass.

Fig. 16. An image of the structure of water, obtained using a phase contrast microscope. Macro-formations up to one micron in size can be seen. They are composed of structural elements S = 1.1 х 1.1 μm , h = 203 А°.