To what extent are thermodynamic properties of water argon-like?

A new view on the role of H-bonds in water, arising from the principle of corresponding states and Hilbert’s principle is presented. It is shown that the relative values of the H-bond contributions to the fraction volume and the heat of evaporation per molecule do not exceed 5%, although H-bonds are responsible for the non-monotone behavior of the fraction volume. It is established that the average number of H-bonds per molecule everywhere on the vapor–liquid coexistence curve is given by the formula nH(T) ≈ 4(1 − 0.83t), where t = T / T c ( w ) and T c ( w ) is the critical temperature of water.