Questions tagged [everyday-chemistry]
Applications of chemistry to reagents, reactions and processes of everyday life. Use this tag for question on chemistry in an out-of-laboratory/class context. DO NOT use this tag merely because the question is about simple chemistry.
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Most common material in the universe [closed]
I was told that 'water' was the most common material in the universe and I disputed that claim. I was met with the argument that hydrogen and oxygen were the most common atoms in the world so water ...
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What purpose do chain reactions serve?
I just learned what chain reactions are, but I can't seem to wrap my head around them because it seems utterly useless and doesn't accomplish anything. At least that's how I understood it because the ...
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why do battery leaks still happen [duplicate]
Battery leaks was an issue in the 80s and 90s, and since quality and innovation is constantly improving, I thought battery leak might be slowly going away. But I found that even nowadays, name brand ...
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Oxyhydrogen applied to a catalytic converter
Recently people have been reporting that if you blow 'HHO' gas (Oxyhydrogen) into a used catalytic converter it gives off excessive heat.
Look here for any number of examples.
There is a suggestion ...
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Why do hairs (rubbed with plastic comb) fallen on water seems to be sticking?
I was observing from many days, how hairs seems to be sticking to water, when made to fall on it. I made an attempt to know what really was going on. I kept a jug of stationary water under the light, ...
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What chemical reaction can cause this blue-ish deposit?
Recently I noticed that some of our glasses and cutlery had developed a blue-ish deposit as you can see for the two sets of spoons below. For each set the spoon on the left has the blue-ish deposit ...
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Flavor transference through the air and plastic bags
I am not sure if this is a chemistry question; however, I was wondering:
In my desk I have two plastic, zip-lock bags. One contains cinnamon tea, the other contains nuts.
After about a week of ...
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Is crushing an avocado a chemical or physical change? [duplicate]
Applying pressure can result in chemical changes, does this hold true for an avocado?
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What is the nature and character of fire? [duplicate]
What is fire? Is it a material or energy or something else? Please explain it to me. My friend asked me this. I am stuck with this problem.
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What molecular features create the sensation of sweetness?
There are many compounds that taste sweet. Many of the artificial ones taste much sweeter than natural sugars (which is why they contribute little to energy intake when use as sweeteners).
A range ...
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What is the most rare element in periodic table
What is the most rare element in periodic table? I have a lot of confusion about this.
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Is it possible to make liquid nitrogen with a bottle of CO2 gas and a freezer?
I really want to make liquid nitrogen(or oxygen) without using dry ice, a specially made freezer, or other chemicals.
I have a mixture of some sponges, rotten grass, sugar and water, which makes ...
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Why does water cause a jet flame when poured over a bunch of tealights?
A neat party trick (typically for outdoors) is to build a pyramid of tealights, let them burn for a while and then pour a bit of water over it and see a large jet flame shoot out (see e.g. this ...
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Why do puffed rice stick to wet hands?
My mom gave puffed rice to eat, I had quite wet hands. I saw that, each puffed rice pieces started hanging to the hand, when I brought my hand in contact with them. I thought about electrostatics ...
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What can you use to remove hair gel? [closed]
The hair gel is called "lets Jam Gel". It says it uses micro emulsion technology.
What chemicals can you use to break it down or undo the bonds?
I'm trying to get it out of my head. I washed my hair ...
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Methane seems to dissolve more readily in cold water. Why?
When you are diluting air in the system and/or properly evacuating it, you must consider water temperature. Methane is completely dissolved in water at 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 C) but can be ...
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Egg-Detection in Pastries: An Analysis in Heat-Alterated Molecule Identification
I would like to know if anybody here knows of a method to detect the presence of ovalbumin--or any unique, egg-related molecule, in a baked good. Here I am anticipating that the "unique egg-related ...
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Why Add Salt to Vinegar to Clean Pennies? [duplicate]
One common cure for dirty pennies is to put them in vinegar and salt. The vinegar should react with the copper oxide on the penny in the following way:
$\ce{2CH3COOH + CuO -> (CH3COO)2Cu + H2O}$
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How can silver work as a disinfectant in a bathtub if precipitates in the presence of chloride?
I use a silver based disinfectant in my hot tub. It is in the form of silver nitrate beads. There is chlorine in the tub that I presume becomes chloride ion. Why doesn't the silver form a precipitate ...
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Suitability of liquid plastic resin for plumbing application
Which synthetic resins are suitable for fabrication of plumbing components e.g pipe sections?
I'm trying to find an easy way to mold/house/encase a custom designed data logger.
The water temperature ...
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What is the substance in the new water cooler filter that give bubbles and taste a bit like soap
Recently the water cooler was replace with a new filter.
However, when I refill my water kettle with the water from the water cooler, there are many bubbles and the taste was a bit like soap.
What ...
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Why doesn't diffusion take place between immiscible liquids?
If we take a test-tube of bromine and invert an upside-down test tube of air on top of it, it'll diffuse with the air, until the bromine is thoroughly 'mixed' with the air in both test tubes. But why ...
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Effect of vibration on wine quality
Most people that have ever visited a viticulteur (winemaker) will know that it is common wisdom that vibrations are bad for the wine quality. When I was just a kid the winemaker always told me that we ...
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Extracting Zinc (oxide) from baby powder
I have a bottle of baby powder that is 15% Zinc oxide and the rest is talc. Is there an over-the-counter way of purifying zinc oxide from it? I'm trying to make some sunscreen from it.
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What is a chemical element?
I would like to know what is the difference between a chemical element and a type of atom? Can anyone give the definition, please!
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Why are the majority of cleaning solutions basic?
When testing for pH for common household cleaning products, such as dishwasher fluid, I noticed that majority of them tend to be basic? Why is that? Do acid make good cleaning solutions as well?
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Covalently bonding amide to glass
I am unfortunately not very good at chemistry, so I am having trouble figuring out where to start on this project. I need to have some way of get some amide functional groups stuck on a substrate (...
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Are pesticides used on fruit easily washed off?
I was hoping there'd be someone who studies pesticides here.
Are they water soluble?
Do they get absorbed in to the fruit?
How well would you have to wash the fruit to fully remove the residue?
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How might one reduce the concentration of bubbles in their ice, from ice cube trays?
So I have been freezing ice a lot recently, and I will come out and say it, as it turns out it is, albeit unlikely, it is sometimes possible for ice to "explode." I was not so aware of this before, ...
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Alloy-component weight based on desired molecule
I'm a gold smith and I want to start experimenting with non-standard metal-alloys. Now high school is a long time ago for me so while I think I've got this right, I'm just not as sure as I should be ...
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What would happen to a Water/Lard Mix under pressure and high heat?
If water is mixed with lard oil and heated (creating some super-critical water), how does this affect the volatility of the mixture in comparison if it is a pure mix of either water, or lard oil?
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Is there a way to detect bleach residue on a surface?
I was wondering if there is a way to detect for presence or residue of bleach using household items.
I am curious about either chlorine-based or peroxide-based. It can be any sort of reaction that ...
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Galvanic corrosion between nickel brass nut and stainless bolt
I am planning to install something on a boat that will be in salt water, and my question is, will the nickel plated brass fastener not corrode if I connect it to stainless steel?
I looked it up on ...
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What is the chemical structure of the cocoate ion vs. the olivate ion?
I am wondering how the cocoate ion (in natural soaps, in the form of sodium or potassium cocoate and from the saponification of coconut oil) differs structurally from the olivate ion (from the ...
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How does brewing time and brewing temperature affect the flavonoid concentration of green tea?
I've searched a lot for this, but I still cannot find any good explanations for how these two factors affect flavonoid concentrations.
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Retention of surface texture after combustion
Just some while ago I was burning a box of cardboard in my backyard and I saw a very curious phenomenon.
I saw that as the cardboard box started burning it started to curl. Up after a while as I ...
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