- #1
Pyrophoric
I'm an undergrad biochemistry major at a state university in NY (I've tried the chemistry forums already) trying to understand more about interactions between polar and non-polar molecules. Say I have a thin wax in water, we are taught that the entropy of the reordering of water contributes more to the aggregation of nonpolar molecules than their own affinity for each other (hydrophobic effect) so basically the dipoles of water act as an external force that compresses nonpolar molecules together around clathrage or solvation cages (reordering of water molecules to fit nonpolar substance while increasing entropy) This has me thinking, most nonpolar molecules contain van der waals forces that are derived from polarizable electron clouds that fluctuate depending on their immediate environment. So let's say I apply a magnetic field to water so that all the dipoles are reinforced in the same direction, would I have to determine the charge vector on each atom and add them all up to find the net effect on the nonpolar molecule (thin wax)? Any direction or advice is appreciated.