Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Hydrophobic

This is a picture of vegetable oil and water. The oil is hydrophobic, which means it is water-repelling. Water is a polar molecule, with its oxygen atom with a slightly negative charge and its hydrogen with a slightly positive charge. Hydrophobic molecules, such as the oil above, tend to be nonpolar molecules and therefore, prefer other neutral molecules and nonpolar solvents. So when the oil and water meet, the oil "repels" the water, and they separate.

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