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We Finally Know Why Oil and Water Don't Mix

Posted by timothy on from the they-split-over-demi-moore dept.

CoveredTrax writes "Everyone knows oil and water don't mix. It's a simple concept, sure, but the hydrophobic interactions between fats and water are crucial to the mechanics of microbiology. The weird thing is, the base theories of chemistry suggest that there's no reason oil and water shouldn't mix, even though it's obvious that's not the case. Now there's an explanation: a team of chemical engineers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have defined an equation that measures a compound's hydrophobic character. It's the first such equation of its kind."

5 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I read TFA, and I still don't know why oil and water don't mix. Frankly, I don't think these researchers do, either. They seems to have come up with some kind of empirical formula that describes the interactions without really understanding why they are happening.

    1. Re:Huh? by Kjella · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well there's two meanings:
      Q: Why does the apple fall to the ground?
      A: Gravity

      Q: Yes, you've named the force and given me a formula to calculate it but why does the apple fall to the ground?
      A: We don't know, and even if we ever find something more fundamental that explains gravity, then that again won't have a "why".

      Science explains the "how", when you derive it from other things we often say "why". But if you want turtles all the way down, there's no "why", no reason the universe is this way and not some other way. It's purely descriptive of the way it is.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:Huh? by maxwell+demon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, I wonder how he would have coped with the following:

      Him: Why is it lighter?
      You: Because it has fewer nucleons.
      Him: Why does it have fewer nucleons?
      You: Because otherwise it would not be Helium.
      Him: Why would it not be Helium?
      You: Because we humans defined Helium that way.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  2. I read TFA by bryan1945 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And basically it says van der Waals' theory is wrong, and here is a new equation. That's pretty much it.
    Anyone who knows about this stuff want to take a look at the equation, and see if it makes any sense? Not my area.

    E(D)= -2i(a-a)e^(D-D)
    where:
    E = energy
    D = distance
    a = area of molecule

    --
    Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
  3. Re:As Bill O'Reilly would say. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It still amazes me when I meet atheists who hang their hat on science. Science is extremely valuable, however it's the least tenable theological position.