Why doesn't water mix with oil?



-water oil

They're both liquids, so why does oil float on the water without mixing?


2470 2016-06-17 Lady

A. 1

There's something in common that's called liquid,
In other words, matter can be divided into polar and non-polar materials.
If it's the same polarity, it mixes well.
Water is a polar substance and oil is a non-polar substance, so it doesn't mix.


Gentleman 8 years ago 0

A. 2

There's something called an emulsifier and its properties are half polar, half nonpolar, so it can mix well with both sides.
So if you use emulsifiers, you can mix oil with water.
Surfactants also act as emulsifiers, so they go into places like toothpaste and shampoo.


Gentleman 8 years ago 0

A. 3

Oil floats on water because the density of water is greater than oil.


Gentleman 8 years ago 0


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