polywater

American  

[pol-ee-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈpɒl iˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a subtance mistakenly identified as a polymeric form of water, now known to be water containing ions from glass or quartz.

---

Etymology

Origin of polywater

First recorded in 1965–70; poly(meric) + water

Example Sentences

In this view, cold fusion joins an insalubrious list that includes the N-rays of 1903, the polywater affair of the late 1960s and the memory of water episode of the late 1980s.

From Nature

Engineers speculated about its potential as an anti-freeze or anti-corrosive agent, while some scientists worried about the disastrous possibility that it could escape the lab and seed more polywater on its own.

From Slate

Until recently, like most people, I’d never heard of polywater.

From Slate

I’d never met the man, but I was fascinated by the scant information I could find about polywater and tickled by the idea I had a family member involved with it.

From Slate

In 1961 another Soviet scientist picked the work up again and isolated for the first time the substance that would eventually be known as polywater.

From Slate