Water

There is no more important elementary ingredient, compound or cycle on earth than that of water.

The cycle is called the hydrological cycle and it moves nutrients, gases and materials through an ecological system.

The compound is made of two elements of Hydrogen and one of Oxygen. The compound is a polar molecule in that one side of the compound is positively charged and the other is negatively charged.

In response to radiation, the water molecule has three states of existence on earth.

Liquid -- a universal solvent, water in this form can retain large amounts of heat, or infrared radiation.

Solid -- in the absence of sufficient infrared radiation water freezes accumulating into ice.

Gas -- as the heat or infrared radiation accumulates water vaporizes into a gaseous medium.

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Under the impact of ionizing radiation the water molecule breaks up into an OH- compound (radical) and an ion of Hydrogen, H+.