Some students from M1-M3 did an experiment at home. The experiment is all about how soap can destroy viruses. This experiment is also related to surface tension and polarity of water which they will be learning in the near future.

 

     The water molecules attract one another due to the water's polar property. The hydrogen ends, which are positive in comparison to the negative ends of the oxygen cause water to "stick" together. By sticking together, the water molecules create surface tension.

This is why there is surface tension and it takes a certain amount of energy to break these intermolecular bonds that forces pepper to hang out on top of the water.

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     Soap, however, breaks the surface tension, forcing the pepper to be carried away and mixed with the water molecules rather than sticking to your finger.

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     The same concept is at play with coronavirus. If you wash your hands without soap, the surface tension remains intact, and so the water rolls over the coronavirus without damaging it. Because soap is a combination of two molecules – one that is attracted to fats and another that is attracted to water – it breaks the surface tension.

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     Coronavirus has an outer layer made up of fat, so when it comes into contact with soap for long enough (at least 20 seconds), the part of the soap attracted to fat will literally rip the outer layer away, killing the virus, and leaving the harmless remains to wash down the drain with the water.

Bye bye coronavirus!

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