Eli5 Why does soap help clean so well? What about its characteristics makes it a great cleaning solution?
In: Chemistry
You can think about a molecule of soap like a cooked spaghetti noodle with a little magnet attached to one end. The little magnet makes the soap attracted to water, because a water molecule is bent and has electromagnetic properties. The spaghetti end of soap is unlike a magnet, and other non-electromagnetic things (like dirts and oils) kind of hang out at the spaghetti end.
So the impurities that are hanging out at the spaghetti end of the soap molecule get removed because the other end is magnetically attracted to water, which washes away.
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