The Science behind Water Bending

First of all, before we delve into the science behind water bending, lets make something clear. I'm not a scientist; my understanding of physics and the world would be that of the average human being. This is my understanding of water bending combined with a few articles that I've read on this subject, so it is probably not very accurate. Nevertheless, let's dive into it.

The basics of the theory of water bending is illustrated in the simple demonstration below.

First, take a comb and comb it against your hair many times.

Then, turn on the water faucet.

Next, put your comb next to the water, and if you've combed it against your hair enough times, the water should start bending towards your comb.

So why does that work?

When you are combing your hair, there is friction. Electrons will jump from your hair into the comb and therefore positively charge your comb. Then, when you move the comb near the flowing water, the water (neutral charge) will be attracted towards your comb (positive charge), thus making the water bend. This is similar to how magnets work: opposites attract. You can try it :)

Now, what is chi and how is it related to water bending?

When you search up the definition of chi, you get this:

"Chi, (Qi or Ki) is the energy of life itself, a balance of Yin and Yang, positive and negative, electromagnetic energy which flows through everything in creation. So Chi can possibly be described as an electromagnetic phenomenon, as a form of light energy, as a form of bio-electromagnetic energy or electricity."

In simple terms, chi is electricity. So how is that related to water bending? Well basically our theory of water bending is that there is electricity between the water and something else (in the example, it was a comb, in real life it should be your hands). By controlling your chi, you can generate electricity and make the water move. It's quite simple actually. Once you master yin and yang chi, you can move yin chi into one hand (thus negatively charging your hand), which will repel the water/move it away. You can move yang chi into the other hand (positive energy), which will attract the water. Thus, through yin and yang chi, water bending could be achieved.

Water Bending in Nature

In Avatar the Last Airbender, water benders worship the moon. Why? The Moon is one factor that influences the tides. There is gravitation that pulls the ocean towards the moon, thus creating tides. Similarly, according to logic, you can use the magnetic force in your chi to influence the way water moves and thus control it.

From this, we can conclude that water Bending could possibly exist (at least according to my logic). The parts about electricity moving water should be accurate: a positively charged object should attract the water. The question is whether it is possible to physically project your chi into the environment. If chi is only something that exists within each individual person's mind (as in only imaginary, you think you feel something, but it's not real), then this whole theory falls apart.

So, the real question is whether chi could be projected into the materialistic world and whether chi can influence the outside world. If it can, then it is pretty possible that bending could be achieved. If not, then oh well I guess...