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| Peter... |
 Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:14 am |
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I'm not a chemistry specialist so be gentle with me!
When I clean an oily surface at home with a cloth and some alcohol
(such as propanol) then the oil is removed.
What does the alcohol change the oil into? |
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| Craig... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:14 am |
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On Oct 10, 10:14 am, Peter <inva... at (no spam) mail.com> wrote:
[quote:2661b251e1]I'm not a chemistry specialist so be gentle with me!
When I clean an oily surface at home with a cloth and some alcohol
(such as propanol) then the oil is removed.
What does the alcohol change the oil into?
[/quote:2661b251e1]
Simply put, the oil dissolves in the alcohol.
Imagine cleaning up some spilled sugar with a wet cloth. The sugar
will "disappear." It ends up dissolved in the water in the cloth. If
you try this with a paper towel, the wet towel should taste sweet.
(to be clear: do NOT try tasting the oil or the alcohol... I suggest
a paper towel, since I don't know how hygienic your kitchen towels
are.) The sugar hasn't really changed chemically, it just dissolved.
The same is true for the oils that you wipe up with the alcohol.
- Craig |
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| Frank... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:41 am |
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Peter wrote:
[quote:bc8e535360]I'm not a chemistry specialist so be gentle with me!
When I clean an oily surface at home with a cloth and some alcohol
(such as propanol) then the oil is removed.
What does the alcohol change the oil into?
[/quote:bc8e535360]
No chemical change is involved. You're just diluting the grease and
absorbing it into the rag. |
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| Peter... |
| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:58 am |
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On 20:16 10 Oct 2009, Craig wrote:
[quote:1edb6feecd]On Oct 10, 10:14 am, Peter <inva... at (no spam) mail.com> wrote:
I'm not a chemistry specialist so be gentle with me!
When I clean an oily surface at home with a cloth and some
alcohol (such as propanol) then the oil is removed.
What does the alcohol change the oil into?
Simply put, the oil dissolves in the alcohol.
Imagine cleaning up some spilled sugar with a wet cloth. The
sugar will "disappear." It ends up dissolved in the water in
the cloth. If you try this with a paper towel, the wet towel
should taste sweet. (to be clear: do NOT try tasting the oil or
the alcohol... I suggest a paper towel, since I don't know how
hygienic your kitchen towels are.) The sugar hasn't really
changed chemically, it just dissolved. The same is true for the
oils that you wipe up with the alcohol.
[/quote:1edb6feecd]
I'm not sure I understand that properly ...
If the oil dissolves in the alcohol then when the alcohol evaporates
the oil should remain. That doesn't seem to happen.
It seems as if the alcohol somehow changes the oil into something
different. |
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| Terry... |
| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:45 am |
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On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:58:22 +0100, Peter <invalid at (no spam) mail.com> wrote:
[quote:8475bb38bf]On 20:16 10 Oct 2009, Craig wrote:
On Oct 10, 10:14 am, Peter <inva... at (no spam) mail.com> wrote:
I'm not a chemistry specialist so be gentle with me!
When I clean an oily surface at home with a cloth and some
alcohol (such as propanol) then the oil is removed.
What does the alcohol change the oil into?
Simply put, the oil dissolves in the alcohol.
Imagine cleaning up some spilled sugar with a wet cloth. The
sugar will "disappear." It ends up dissolved in the water in
the cloth. If you try this with a paper towel, the wet towel
should taste sweet. (to be clear: do NOT try tasting the oil or
the alcohol... I suggest a paper towel, since I don't know how
hygienic your kitchen towels are.) The sugar hasn't really
changed chemically, it just dissolved. The same is true for the
oils that you wipe up with the alcohol.
I'm not sure I understand that properly ...
If the oil dissolves in the alcohol then when the alcohol evaporates
the oil should remain. That doesn't seem to happen.
It seems as if the alcohol somehow changes the oil into something
different.
[/quote:8475bb38bf]
Describe your observations in detail and we'll try to explain them,
but...
Matter cannot be created or destroyed. It's possible that the oil
reacted with the alcohol to form a new substance. That's unlikely to
say the least; typical (motor) oil is made of molecules that don't
react well with much of anything other than oxygen.
It may be that the oil is so dispersed after being cleaned up that
it's no longer apparent. For example, if an alcohol-dampened paper
towel was used to wipe up a few drops of oil, that oil would now be
dispersed throughout the alcohol; i.e., over the entire paper towel. A
few drops of oil spread evenly over a paper towel is unlikely to be
visible. |
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