detergent

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

The diagrams show how detergent removes oil droplets often contained in dirt. When the detergent dissolves in water, detergent molecules group themselves around an oil droplet (a). The water-repelling part of the molecules (light area) projects into the droplet, while the water-soluble part (dark area) remains in the water (b). The oil is held in suspension by the emulsifying action of the detergent and is carried away with the dirty water (c).

steps in the manufacture of synthetic detergents

Discover

Scolex (head) of the tapeworm Taenia solium. The hooks of the scolex enable the tapeworm to attach to the intestinal wall.

Uninvited Guests: The 7 Worst Parasitic Worms

Artist interpretation of space asteroids impacting earth and moon. Meteoroids, meteor impact, end of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Doomsday Predictions, comet

Major Mass Extinctions

Lake Mead (the impounded Colorado River) at the Hoover Dam. The light-coloured band of rock above the shoreline shows the decrease in water level in the first few years of the 21st century.

6 Lakes That Are Drying Up

Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan

6 Animals That Eat Their Mates

Salem Witch Trials. Photogravure after the painting by Walter McEwen titled - The Witches - circa 1890s.

How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials

Demystified - Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide? illustration

Do Lemmings Really Commit Mass Suicide?

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

detergent: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

The diagrams show how detergent removes oil droplets often contained in dirt. When the detergent dissolves in water, detergent molecules group themselves around an oil droplet (a). The water-repelling part of the molecules (light area) projects into the droplet, while the water-soluble part (dark area) remains in the water (b). The oil is held in suspension by the emulsifying action of the detergent and is carried away with the dirty water (c).

steps in the manufacture of synthetic detergents

See All Images →

Topics

cationic detergent anionic detergent ampholytic detergent nonionic detergent optical brightener soap and detergent surfactant wetting agent chemical product drug explosive plastic rubber man-made fibre surface coating glass cosmetic match luminol

Key People

William Hesketh Lever

British entrepreneur