  In the modern world, the focus of natural science research thought has
shifted mainly to the molecular level, including the study of water. Water is
considered as a mixture of interacting H2O molecules and their clusters based
on the data of molecular dynamics, neutron and X-ray scattering. In this case,
a huge layer of information is lost related to the composition of real water,
its microstructure and behavior. In this work, we studied the structure and
dynamics of water during its interaction with glass surfaces during drying
using optical microscopy. We observed a panoramic picture of a cascade of
interrelated phase transitions of distilled water and its microdispersed phase
- sodium chloride microcrystals surrounded by a thick layer of hydrate liquid
crystal water. Incubation of a glass slide in water for 2 days was accompanied
by adhesion of the microdisperse phase to the glass surface. During the free
evaporation of distilled water from a Petri dish, erosion of hydration shells,
dissolution of NaCl microcrystals, and further recrystallization with the
formation of large monolithic crystals and traces of non-drying water were
observed. However, there are still questions that do not yet have clear
answers. The authors hope to continue research in collaboration with interested
colleagues.
