Why is it that a wet tissue or piece of cardboard or paper tear more easily? How does water affect the structural integrity of paper products?
In: Chemistry
Water covers the paper fibers making them slippery and it can move in between fibers causing expansion. This expansion means that fibers that were previously touching and providing structural integrity are now free floating. The reason water doesn’t cause paper to instantly disintegrate is that even with the reduction in friction there is still quite a bit of entanglement in the fibers.
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