Why does the soap wash?

And what would we do without soap - a fragrant, foaming, so easily washed off the hands with grease and dirt, and with clothes - spots? And as soon as people lived without soap! Man invented this indispensable tool in the household more than 2000 years ago - and we are still sincerely surprised at why soap washes?

Soap, like other similar detergents, has an amazing property - it reduces the surface tension of water and thus enhances its detergent properties .Soap foam contains a great number of bubbles, having a water shell. It is the bubbles that are the secret of soap detergents - they seem to capture particles of dust and dirt. And under the water jet foam, "enriched" these particles, without problems is washed off.

If further delve into the essence of the issue, why soap washes, then you can not do without certain knowledge of chemistry. Namely - the knowledge of the composition of the soap molecule. Its peculiarity is that, when it comes into contact with water, the entire surface of the latter is covered with a peculiar "palisade" of soap molecules. This helps to reduce the surface tension of water and, in turn, increase its wetting power. And this, accordingly, causes better wetting of hands, tissue or any other contaminated surface.

What happens next? A particle of dust or dirt, covered with soap molecules, easily separates from the surface of hands or tissue and immersed in the solution as a newly formed suspension or emulsion. And the enveloping properties of soap molecules prevent them from re-attaching to the surface, but they contribute to their rapid flushing with water.

So, if you simply and without immersing yourself in science explain why soap washes, you can say that soap foam has the ability to easily absorb dust, dirt and grease from a contaminated surface and with the same ease can be washed off with water , making the surface clean.

Certainly, at present cosmetic soap is not limited to washing function alone. Various additives added to the soap, give it other properties: moisturizing, antibacterial, softening. The soap has a different shape, color and smell. And still the main thing is the amazing property of soap bubbles - it's easy and simple to remove dirt and grease.