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Puzzle ID: #42032
Submitted By: tangled_brain Corrected By: Winner4600
Submitted By: tangled_brain Corrected By: Winner4600
Science
Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.Science
We all know that oil and water just don't mix.
One thousand years ago, we also knew that everything revolved around the earth, and some people as recently as one hundred years ago knew that the earth was flat!
However, I know that I can get oil and water to mix simply by adding something found in every home.
One thousand years ago, we also knew that everything revolved around the earth, and some people as recently as one hundred years ago knew that the earth was flat!
However, I know that I can get oil and water to mix simply by adding something found in every home.
Hint
"Now with more grease-fighting power!"Answer
What I add is dishwashing liquid! The reason oil and water don't mix is because oil is nonpolar, while water is polar. The "like dissolves like rule" explains why table salt (NaCl) can be dissolved in water (both are polar), while oil cannot (it's nonpolar).What's special about the dishwashing liquid is that it is a surfactant, short for SURFace ACTing AgeNT. This gives it the ability to break the surface tension of water. Also, the molecules in the dish soap have one side that is polar and attracted to water and another that is nonpolar and soluble in oil, allowing both the polar water molecules and the nonpolar oil molecules to create a colloid called an emulsion.
There are different kinds of emulsions. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of vinegar and oil, which wouldn't mix if egg yolks weren't added.
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Comments
Heh heh, I knew the answer, and I'm first to comment! Great teaser, and good explanation.
nice teaser! I use an agent called tween at work. i think that may be the active ingredient. i could be wrong though
Good teaser. But - a fairly contorted problem statement! (Flat earth??) I guess it comes with having your screen name!
Very nice. I knew the answer when I saw it. Very.....long explanation....Great teaser.
love it
What about a blender??
Fun teaser.
Fun teaser.
hehe you could use a blender, but the oil would just clump back together once you turned it off.
try it!
try it!
this is very easy to answer but it is still fun as i LOVE science!!!!(especially chemistry)
yup soap is a simple emulsifier, but there are other things in the kitchen that do the same . love chemistry
And here I thought it was those scrubbing bubbles that did all the work. That'll teach me not to trust commercials.
Nice teaser.
Nice teaser.
Fun and interesting.
The hint just ha
The hint just handed it to us on a silver plate.
Very clever well done
I'm a bit puzzled by the comment about cosmology. The Ptolemaic universe (egocentric) represented a lot of observation and calculation, and was a good theory until 16th-17th century science provided a better one. People never really "know" that a scientific theory is *true*, only that it's the best so far. Theories can't be proved in the way they can be falsified (see Karl Popper)
"found in every home"? I swear, some of the people I work with aren't clean enough to use that
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