NeAr Science Magazine

By Baran Dönmez

Imagine waking up in a world where your morning coffee doesn’t brew properly, your favourite sneakers start falling apart or your trusty concrete sidewalks crumble away. It might sound like a scene from a dystopian movie, but the truth is, that our everyday lives depend on the magical world of chemistry. Come along, let’s take a look together!

Surfactants

Try to imagine a world with no dish soap, no hand soap and no detergents to keep our  everyday spaces clean. Our kitchens would be cluttered with grimy dishes and our  clothes would lose their fresh appeal. But how do these miraculous cleaning chemicals  work and do they really get rid of all the dirt, grease, and invisible germs hanging around  on our hands, dishes, and clothes? At the heart of these cleaning agents are molecules  called surfactants. 

Surfactants are made from two different parts; the hydrophilic head, which attracts  water and the hydrophobic tail, which repels it but attracts grease and dirt. The tail ‘cosies’ up with grease and dirt particles, isolates them from water and whisks them away from their unwanted locations.  This microscopic dance of molecules not only cleans surfaces but also helps to  eliminate bacteria and other unwanted guests. By trapping and removing these  elements, surfactants play a critical role in keeping our kitchens, bathrooms, and  clothes hygienic.

Cutting onions

Lithium-ion batteries

Redox reactions involve the flow of electrons, generating electricity and powering our devices. Since these reactions aren’t one hundred percent efficient, part of the energy gets released as heat. This causes your phone to warm up during constant usage. Continuous heat exposure can shorten the lifespan of the  electronic device, which is why coolers or fans are often used to prevent overheating. You may have realised that your phone heats the most when connected to the charger. Using the phone while charging, the lithium-ion battery is not just supplying energy but also undergoing a  process called the energy transfer process, where electrical energy is stored for later  use. Doing this a few times won’t cause much trouble, but when it becomes a habit,  studies have shown that it can negatively impact battery health over time. In fact, this is  exactly why major phone manufacturers advise against using your phone while it is  charging. 

Chemistry deserves a spot in our daily gratitude list, because it is not only a subject  confined to dusty textbooks and lab coats, it is the limestone holding historic buildings  together, the cleaning supplies that keep harmful bacteria away, the battery that powers our lives and the tears that protect our eyes. The tiny molecules that form the building blocks of everything around us are constantly interacting in ways that make life  not only possible but remarkable. From the reactions that give rise to the warm, comforting taste of your coffee, to the electronics that keep your phone running  smoothly, chemistry is quietly making life easier, safer, and more enjoyable. So, the next  time you marvel at a beautiful sunset, enjoy a delicious meal or simply breathe in the  fresh air, take a moment to recognize the chemistry at work. After all, the world we live in  would not be the same without it.

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