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The influences of water molecules surrounding biological molecules during irradiation with heavy particles (atoms,ions) are currently a major subject in radiation science on a molecular level. In order to elucidate the underlying complex reaction mechanisms we have initiated a joint experimental and theoretical investigation with the aim to make direct comparisons between experimental and theoretical results. As a first step, studies of collisions of a water molecule with a neutral projectile (C atom) at high velocities (> 0.1 a.u.), and with a charged projectile (proton) at low velocities (< 0.1 a.u.) have been studied within the microscopic framework. In particular, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) was applied to the valence electrons and coupled non-adiabatically to Molecular dynamics (MD) for ionic cores. Complementary experimental developments have been carried out to study projectile interactions with accelerated (< 10 keV) and mass-selected cluster ions. The first size distributions of protonated water cluster ions H+(H_2O)_n (n=2-39) produced using this new apparatus are presented., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, subm. to International Journal of Mass Spectrometry