If people start to believe or if the markets start to actually have trouble absorbing the additional dollars injected into the system via QE2, then bond investors will require higher interest rates.
In the process, while all currencies are debased, the floating system is failing to perform its most elementary promise: absorbing international imbalances.
Water is much more efficient than air at absorbing heat and so even with tiny amounts of liquid flowing through the system the researchers saw a significant effect.