Bridge of Water

Researchers at Graz University of Technology, Austria, have caused water to span a 25-millimetre gap between two regular glass beakers in a gravity-defying stunt. The engineering feat could involve a hitherto unknown microstructure of water. The team applied up to 25,000 volts across electrodes placed in two beakers filled nearly to the brim with distilled water. Within a millisecond, water crawled up to the edge of one beaker and, in a burst of sparks, leapt across the gap between them. As the researchers moved the beakers apart, the bridge grew. The resulting thin cylinder of water stood for up to 45 minutes.