Originally posted by nismoS132:
actually luke, 2t is subsceptible to settling after some time, depends on the kind of 2t though.
for example, look at bandung or milo etc etc, if you put it in a transparent cup, leave there for a day, you'll see the solution diluted at the top, and saturated at the bottom.
that's the same with 2t and petrol, just a solution. there's no chemical reaction to bond the atoms together, so they will seperate given enough time.
simple sec 3 n 4 chemistry
yes henry, but simple sec 3 and 4 chem cannot explain this properly. in the first place, you gotta know what a solution is.
bandung is a mixture. it is not a solution. the term has to be used correctly. i say bandung is a mixture because it's made of rose syrup and condensed milk. now, i'm not saying it's a mixture just because i know what it's made of, but rather because i know what constitutes rose syrup and condensed milk. condensed milk contains milk protein, which are insoluble in water, due to its large molecular mass, weakly polar nature. which is why you see a cloudy mixture when you mix it with water and leave it to settle. the particles are very fine, but they don't dissolve. proteins can be soluble, or insoluble, depending on their molecular size and polarity. milk protein happens to be one of those that don't.
so, bandung is a mixture, and it settles because the proteins are heavier and will settle.
now, petrol is made up of hydrocarbons. it is non-polar, which means there's no definite charge on any molecule, since the electron cloud shifts at random. it stays as a liquid due to weak intermolecular forces. i wish i could use the proper terms, but i'm rusty already. 2T, which is essentially also oil, but different in structure due to the use it's meant for, is also non-polar. mix 2T and water, see if it mixes or separates. oil and water don't mix because water is polar and oil is not. petrol and 2T are non-polar, and will dissolve to form a solution. a solution is also a mixture, but just that due to the intermolecular, OR ionic interactions, the 2 different particles cannot be separated. you can't separate the constituents of a solution by using simple mechanical methods. try to filter out sand from seawater using a funnel and filter paper, yes. try to filter out sugar from sugar solution (assuming it's not saturated and the sugar is fully dissolved), impossible.
one more point: 2T molecules are heavier in mass than petrol molecules generally. that's true. but will it settle? to answer that, read up on brownian motion. your tank of petrol does not just sit there, with the molecules waiting around for you to shake the tank so that they start moving. molecules don't stop moving. period.