Re: [NTLK] OT humidity - solvents and solutes

From: Eric L. Strobel (fyzycyst_at_comcast.net)
Date: Tue Jul 02 2002 - 10:36:48 EDT


on 7/2/02 1:10 AM, Jim Witte at jswitte_at_bloomington.in.us wrote:

>
>> chemical forces that occur when a solvent (like water) dissolves
>> something. A solvent "latches on" to a molecule of the solute. That
>> is NOT
>> happening when water evaporates into the air.
>
> My first year chemistry is rusty, but what happens with a non-polar
> solvent?
>
> Jim
>

I don't have my Chem texts with me (I'm at work now), but IIRC the force
involved is another of the Van Der Waals forces, the dispersion force. This
comes about because the atomic nuclei aren't completely shielded by their
surrounding electrons and so are felt by the electrons of neighboring
molecules. These forces exist between any molecules.

- Eric.

-- 

Eric Strobel (fyzycyst_at_NOSPAM^mailaps.org)

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