3 ms·

I suppose it is a reaction, just not in the chemical sense

• thaumasiotes 3y ago
  Wikipedia tells us that dissolving occurs when differences in electrical charge across molecules of solvent (e.g., a molecule of water is famously negative around the oxygen and positive around the hydrogens) interact with differences in electrical charge across molecules of solute such that the molecules of solute get stripped out of the structure they were in and surrounded by molecules of solvent, held in place by what appears to be essentially an ionic bond between the solute and the solvent. I'm not sure why that's not considered "chemistry".
  • asddubs 3y ago
    a chemical reaction is a specific thing within the realm of chemistry, rather than attempt to define it myself and get it wrong, I will quote Oxford Languages (via google) here: chemical reaction: process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance, as distinct from a change in physical form or a nuclear reaction. So, a chemical reaction is not just what you would colloquially describe as a reaction of something that belongs to the realm of chemistry, it has a specific definition. A reaction is H + O2 = H2O (omitting concerns of stoichiometry for simplicities sake). A reaction is not e.g. salt dissolving in water, because salt stays salt (NaCl) and water stays water (H2O)
    • scentoni 3y ago
      When sugar dissolves in water, it stays sugar. When salt dissolves in water, it becomes separate Na+ and Cl- ions.
      • thaumasiotes 3y ago
        > When salt dissolves in water, it becomes separate Na+ and Cl- ions. This is something I wonder about. How separate are the salt ions when salt dissolves in water? If you add a chunk of sodium to water it will explode; that doesn't happen when you add salt.