: "Dissolve" means generally "to separate out into individual
: parts". The relation to liquids is that some substances which will,
: when immersed in water or some particular liquid, separate into their
: individual molecules and which will tend to scatter evenly through the
: liquid. So it doesn't just mix with it forcibly, and eventually settle out
: to the bottom or top if the liquid is still for long enough (like oil and
: water will), but instead stay "in solution" and will keep that
: way unless somehow forcible separated (like salt and water).
: In essence, a solution (like salt and water, which make the solution of
: "saline") is somewhere between a compound (like hydrogen and
: oxygen, which make the compound of "water") and a mixture (like
: silicon and carbon, which make the mixture of "dirt").
: For a handy household application of this knowledge, note that things of a
: like solution are always and only soluble in each-other. So water-based
: paints dissolve only in water, oil-based paints dissolve only in oil,
: alcohol-based anything dissolves only in alcohol, and so on. Handy for
: knowing what to clean something with, as water won't help you clean an
: oil-based mess very well. (You could still scrub it off with friction from
: high-pressure water, but just being water won't help there at all).
: Also, water is the most solvent substance known in the universe, i.e. more
: things dissolve in water than in anything else. That's why it's so useful
: for life: all kinds of useful crap can dissolve in water and get together
: that way.
: This has been today's episode of CHEM 101. We now return you to your
: regularly scheduled forum, already in progress. (Oh yeah, and as this
: relates to the thread at hand: dissolve is the right word to use, just
: maybe not in the strict chemical sense).
nerd :^p
