Soap
From Sciencemadness Wiki
 |
This article is a stub. Please help Sciencemadness Wiki by expanding it, adding pictures, and improving existing text.
|
Soap is the term for a salt of one or multiple fatty acids or for a variety of cleansing and lubricating products produced from such a substance.
Contents
General properties
Since they are salts of fatty acids, soaps have the general formula (RCO2−)2Mn+ (Where R is an alkyl, M is a metal and n is the charge of the cation). The major classification of soaps is determined by the identity of Mn+.
- Toilet soaps: Use Na or K, the resulting soaps are solids (if Na is used) or (if K is used). Used for handwashing.
- Non-toilet soaps: Many metal dications (Mg2+, Ca2+, and others) give metallic soap. When M is Li, the result is lithium soap (e.g., lithium stearate), which is used in high-performance greases.
Availability
Soap can be bought from most stores.
Preparation
Saponification of fats (triglycerides) with an alkali hydroxide will yield soap and glycerol.
NileRed made a good video on making soap.
Projects
- Washing hands
- High performance grease
Handling and safety
Soap is a useful cleaning product, but should never be poured in areas with plants or natural water bodies since it's harmful.
It is also not edible.
