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.

This tag can be applied to questions regarding the chemical processes behind common reactions observed in the day-to-day lives of people working outside laboratory or industrial settings. Also acceptable are questions regarding the chemical composition of everyday "household" items, e.g. cleaning supplies, plastics, batteries, food and drink, and common fuels such as gasoline or natural gas.

Chemistry is central to virtually all aspects of modern living in industrialized nations. While the general definition of chemistry as "the study of different types of atomic elements, their reactions and products" makes it applicable to every aspect of the existence and functioning of the universe, the more limited common connotation of a "chemical" as being "some created or extracted substance not typically seen in this form in nature" typically limits the "everyday" aspect of chemistry to those types of "artificial" substances seen in the day-to-day lives of people not directly associated with the field of study. Even then, virtually every consumer item currently available for sale has been improved or even made possible through the targeted development of "artificial" chemical substances with desirable properties for the intended use of the end product.

1756 questions
57
votes
4 answers

Why do shampoo ingredient labels feature the term "Aqua"?

I keep seeing the term "Aqua" in the ingredient labels on several shampoo varieties, but I really don't see why it should be there in the first place. I mean, if the manufacturers just wanted to say it contains water, couldn't they've printed out…
paracetamol
  • 18,649
  • 29
  • 106
  • 169
29
votes
3 answers

What happens to gunpowder when it gets wet?

What happens to the gunpowder and other explosives when they get wet? I know that they stop "working" (won't explode anymore) but for what reason? Is it anyhow similar to the fact, that wet wood is burning worse than the dry one?
Sára Melounová
  • 291
  • 1
  • 3
  • 4
28
votes
1 answer

Why does my blood taste like rust?

I thought it is just me, but when I searched it on Google, it revealed that there are many people who experience this: Why is it that whenever I taste my own blood, I always think it tastes like rust? I have never eaten or tasted rust, so how can I…
Cary Bondoc
  • 331
  • 3
  • 7
17
votes
1 answer

Why does paper turn yellow over time?

Yesterday I saw a bill of some book which I bought 6 months back. Then this question struck my mind: "Why does paper turn yellow over time"? I remember my teacher saying some organic compound was used to make paper white. And this effect is reversed…
Vishnu JK
  • 1,254
  • 12
  • 26
13
votes
1 answer

How many electric vehicles can our current supply of lithium power?

This Reddit comment contends There was 870 tons of lithium mined in 2019 in the US. That enough for under 20,000 cars, assuming you're using ~50 kg per car. So that would be 40,000 in 2023, assuming all of it is used in cars. In reality only a…
user100860
12
votes
2 answers

What is going on when pen stops working on a section of paper?

Ever had a ballpoint pen that would all of a sudden hit a 'dead spot' on a sheet of paper and refuse to write? It's clearly not the pen, because when moved off to the corner it would draw perfect circles instantly. Move it back to the spot, and it…
BB ON
  • 233
  • 1
  • 2
  • 4
12
votes
3 answers

Why does paper crumble on getting wet?

Why does paper crumble on getting wet? This is something I have noticed hundreds of times but cannot think of an explanation. Does it have anything with water disturbing the intermolecular forces between cellulose micro fibrils in paper or…
Nitro phenol
  • 523
  • 1
  • 5
  • 16
12
votes
1 answer

Smoke cobweb formations?

One day, my mom decides to light the house on fire, and after we put the fire out, all of the cobwebs in the house are black. Obviously, this is because of the smoke. Later, some renovations guy tells her something about how the cobwebs aren't…
Mashpoe
  • 223
  • 2
  • 5
12
votes
2 answers

Paint changes color when applied to Stucco. Chemical rxn assumed, but what?

PROBLEM: When I apply paint to my home’s exterior stucco (currently white), the paint changes color. The grays change to purple. The whites change to yellow. Greenish-beige becomes orange. I have purchased many samples of paint, and a color change…
Ester Olefin
  • 145
  • 3
11
votes
3 answers

Is it 'Phenyl' or 'Phenol' that is used as a cleaning agent?

I often see Phenyl written on cleaning agents in stores. Here are some examples: One day, a guy standing beside me at a store picked up a bottle of phenyl/phenol and he said, "The big corporation got it wrong. It's phenol, not phenyl." I looked up…
4-K
  • 267
  • 1
  • 4
  • 8
11
votes
1 answer

Why is charcoal useful as a fuel compared to wood? Don't we lose energy by making it?

Charcoal is produced by partially burning wood. However, as the wood is burned, some of its energy is lost. Why is it that charcoal is still preferred as a fuel instead of wood in many cases? Doesn't charcoal contain less energy than wood? Is the…
vsz
  • 2,764
  • 3
  • 16
  • 14
10
votes
2 answers

Why do pregnant women turn toilet seats blue?

My partner is pregnant, and thought perhaps she was going mad when one day she found our toilet seat had turned blue. After some investigation, it seems this is a real phenomena, see here for a nice example, with the image from this link shown…
crobar
  • 305
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
9
votes
2 answers

Why do tealights burn violently when nearly burnt out

I'm not entirely sure if this is the right place for this question, but I decided that it's better than physics.se (and I had no other ideas). I hope this is a good match, otherwise please move the question where it would belong. :) I often use a…
tomasz
  • 193
  • 1
  • 5
9
votes
2 answers

Additives to allow wax to melt in the microwave?

I'm working with microcrystalline wax that I would like to be able to microwave to heat up. I've found that wax doesn't seem to microwave, with the most common answer I've come across for why being that it doesn't contain any water. Adding water…
Matt
  • 101
  • 1
8
votes
2 answers

Why oxygen leaks from tires faster than nitrogen?

In critical applications tires are inflated using pure nitrogen (link). Nitrogen molecules have a more difficult time escaping through the microscopic spaces that exist between a tire's rubber molecules. [...] Nitrogen reduces the loss of tire…
Sparkler
  • 4,257
  • 5
  • 38
  • 61
1
2 3
19 20