In 1893 Sir William Armstrong reported a remarkable experiment: if a high voltage is established between two wine-glasses filled to the brim with pure water and connected by a cotton  thread, a rope of water is formed and remains suspended between the lips of the two glasses. This "water bridge" can subsist for a few seconds even once the thread has been removed [1].

Recently, a group of physicists from Graz University, Austria [2] succeeded on establishing a bridge (without any thread!) between the two glasses under a voltage of 20 kV. The length of the bridge may reach values larger than 1 cm, its diameter is of the order of a few mm and the lifetime currently exceeds 1 hour. Under the effect of the electrical field, the local temperature increases and reaches 60° C, a temperature sufficient to break the bridge. More...

Voir aussi le fait marquant :  

- Des neutrons pour étudier la structure de l'eau : le pont d'eau lourde

 / See also the IRAMIS highlight:

- Neutrons to investigate the structure of water : the heavy water bridge