: why does water expand when frozen but not other liquids?
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The transition between liquid to solid allows atoms to pack closer together (less movement requires less space). Water is different from most molecules (in a lot of ways) because of hydrogen bonding.
Oxygen pulls on the electrons slightly harder than hydrogen in its bond (atoms pulling on electrons is how molecules are formed). Because more electrons are around the oxygen, it is slightly negative, and hydrogen is slightly positive.
As a liquid, water molecules can slide past each other and tumble about (rotate). However, when water freezes, that motion stops, and the molecules have to pick an orientation. The molecules organize to keep all those charges as balanced as possible; this leaves large gaps between the molecules. These gaps mean the water is taking up more space than it did before.
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