What causes Dettol to turn white in water?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Titania
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Water
AI Thread Summary
When water is added to Dettol, it turns from a clear yellowish liquid to a milky white emulsion due to the formation of small droplets of oil suspended in the water. This change occurs because Dettol is an emulsion, similar to milk, where light scattering from the droplets creates the milky appearance. The color change is attributed to the way light interacts with the droplets rather than absorption, as most light does not pass through them. The discussion highlights the chemical nature of Dettol and the visual effects of emulsions.
Titania
Messages
11
Reaction score
1
Yesterday, when I added some water into the dettol, it immediately turned milky white. I was quite curious. What makes it to react to turn a yellowish liquid to a milky emulsion?
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
Dettol is a clear liquid that gets its color from the frequencies of light that can and cannot passing through it. Mixing dettol and water creates an emulsion—a solution where small droplets of the oil are suspended in the water (the comparison to milk is apt as milk is also an emulsion of fats and proteins in water). These emulsions get their color from the scattering of light from the droplets. Here, absorption of light plays less of a role because most of the light you see has not passed through the droplets (which presumably contain the molecules that absorb light).
 
  • Like
Likes Titania
Was yesterday the first time you observed this?

(Mind you today 5 minutes ago is the first time I know exactly what Dettol is - chemically).
 
  • Like
Likes Titania

Thread 'Humidity of a saturated NaCl solution with anticaking additive'

I want to test a humidity sensor with one or more saturated salt solutions. The table salt that I have on hand contains one of two anticaking agents, calcium silicate or sodium aluminosilicate. Will the presence of either of these additives (or iodine for that matter) significantly affect the equilibrium humidity? I searched and all the how-to-do-it guides did not address this question. One research paper I found reported that at 1.5% w/w calcium silicate increased the deliquescent point by...
View full post »

Thread 'Why does having 8 valence electrons make an element inert?'

I was introduced to the Octet Rule recently and make me wonder, why does 8 valence electrons or a full p orbital always make an element inert? What is so special with a full p orbital? Like take Calcium for an example, its outer orbital is filled but its only the s orbital thats filled so its still reactive not so much as the Alkaline metals but still pretty reactive. Can someone explain it to me? Thanks!!
View full post »

Thread 'Resists for etching Aluminium with NaOH'

I'm trying to find a cheap DIY method to etch holes of various shapes through 0.3mm Aluminium sheet using 5-10% Sodium Hydroxide. The idea is to apply a resist to the Aluminium then selectively ablate it off using a diode laser cutter and then dissolve away the Aluminium using Sodium Hydroxide. By cheap I mean resists costing say £20 in small quantities. The Internet has suggested various resists to try including... Enamel paint (only survived seconds in the NaOH!) Acrylic paint (only...
View full post »

Similar threads

Mysterious Fluorescent Yellow Reaction with Dettol Antibacterial Spray
Replies
7
Views
5K
What Is the White Powder from Ultrasonic Humidifiers and Is It Harmful?
Replies
43
Views
12K
What is it about water based paints?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Mystery Stain Solved with Fertilizer Chemistry!
Replies
2
Views
1K
Why is this water turning black during electrolysis?
Replies
19
Views
11K
Seeking White Powder Alkali Indicator (that can take 900°C)
Replies
7
Views
2K
What Causes the Pinging Sounds When Boiling Water in a Kettle?
Replies
4
Views
3K
After Dissolving Salt in Boiling Water, How Do You Get it Back?
Replies
18
Views
6K
Why is white phosphorus not soluble in water?
Replies
1
Views
8K
Water and its interesting 3 phases....
Replies
26
Views
4K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top