Eli5: How does soap get so sudsy and bubbly, given that it starts as either a thick liquid (like shampoo) or a solid (like a bar of soap)?

Question

Eli5: How does soap get so sudsy and bubbly, given that it starts as either a thick liquid (like shampoo) or a solid (like a bar of soap)?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

VERY ELI5: Soap is kind of perpetually falling apart and being kept from falling apart. In its dry bar state, there’s not much you can do to it to change its state. You can pulverize it and it’ll still be dry bits of soap. Add the secret ingredient (water), it loses its “keeping it from falling apart” factor dryness) and becomes a surfactant to pretty much anything that’ll stick to it (most things)

There are better ways to explain it, I’m sure.
[Explained better here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOKAoNbJkSg)