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Question
#4172. andrea
asks:
What common product is made of surface-active agents?
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JSBach
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glue
Surface-active agents include cleaners (e.g., soaps); water repellants (e.g., greases); dispersants and emulsifiers (e.g., glue); and additives adsorbed at interfaces between liquids (usually aqueous) and external gas, liquid or solid phases, with resulting change in interfacial tension. Three electrochemical types are unionized molecule, anion, and cation. Important characteristics of surface-active agents are solubility in the medium and effects of specific adsorption at interfaces. Such agents either provide anchorage between phases or form a barrier, according to their flocculating or dispersingeffect.
 http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/su/surface-active+agent.html
[Added reference - McG]
Jul 11 00, 2:45 PM
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zbeckabee 
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The basic cleaning agents in detergents are called surface-active agents, or surfactants. When added to liquid, they reduce the liquid's surface tension (the affinity that the liquid's surface molecules have for each other), thereby increasing the liquid's spreading and wetting properties. Part of the surface-active molecule is hydrophilic, or "water loving," and another part is hydrophobic, or water-repellant.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5978994.html
Mar 20 08, 7:28 PM
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