Chemistry For Your Life

In this episode, Melissa and Jam explore the complex, but highly familiar and relatable concept of stickiness. It started as a lighthearted question from the end of "Why didn't Jam's pot ever boil?" and turned into its own episode.

Show Notes

In this episode, Melissa and Jam explore the complex, but highly familiar and relatable concept of stickiness. It started as a lighthearted question from the end of "Why didn't Jam's pot ever boil?" and turned into its own episode. How do some things stick together so well? Why do only some substances have that sticky feeling we all know and love? Grab some clorox wipes and jump into this sticky topic.

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Ciara Linville
  • J0HNTR0Y
  • Jeannette Napoleon
  • Cullyn R
  • Erica Bee
  • Elizabeth P
  • Sarah Moar
  • Rachel Reina
  • Letila
  • Katrina Barnum-Huckins
  • Suzanne Phillips
  • Nelly Silva
  • Venus Rebholz
  • Lyn Stubblefield
  • Jacob Taber
  • Brian Kimball
  • Emerson Woodhall
  • Kristina Gotfredsen
  • Timothy Parker
  • Steven Boyles
  • Chris Skupien
  • Chelsea B
  • Bri McAllister
  • Avishai Barnoy
  • Hunter Reardon
ā˜… Support this podcast on Patreon ā˜…

What is Chemistry For Your Life?

A podcast that helps you understand the fascinating chemistry hidden in your everyday life.

Have you ever wondered why onions make you cry? Or how soap gets your hands clean? What really is margarine, or why do trees change colors in the fall? Melissa is a chemist, and to answer these questions she started a podcast, called Chemistry for your life!

In each episode Melissa explains the chemistry behind one of lifeā€™s mysteries to Jam, who is definitely not a chemist, but she explains it in a way that is easy to understand, and totally fascinating.

If youā€™re someone who loves learning new things, or who wonders about the way the world works, then give us a listen.

Melissa:

Hey. I'm Melissa.

Jam:

I'm Jam.

Melissa:

And I'm a chemist. And I'm not. And welcome to Chemistry For Your Life.

Jam:

The podcast helps you understand the chemistry of your everyday life.

Melissa:

Every time Jam says chemistry, he points, the chemistry of everyday life.

Jam:

Yeah. It's so weird. I do I do do that.

Melissa:

You do do that.

Jam:

I think it helps me know which thing I should emphasize. And it's like, a lot of these words are important, but chemistry is kinda the more important one, at least for our podcast.

Melissa:

Well, we've got a couple of disclaimers for you here at the beginning, and then we're gonna jump right in.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

The first one is that I'm recovering. I am Blessfully healed from a terrible illness

Jam:

Mhmm. In

Melissa:

which I was wiped out for several days.

Jam:

Yes. She was very much wiped

Melissa:

Very wiped out.

Jam:

We had to alter our recording schedule. And, like, normally, I think everything else would would bend to recording in your in

Melissa:

your life. Yeah. It's kinda the

Jam:

way I interpret it. You

Melissa:

know? Absolutely. I mean, it's one of my favorite parts of the whole week. So Yeah. Maybe not my school work though.

Jam:

Well, yeah.

Melissa:

And so if you hear me cough or if my voice sounds a little bit different, that's why. I'm on the upswing. I feel a lot better, but there's still some weirdness in my throat.

Jam:

And I'm gonna do my best to get Aussif out of there so they don't have to, you know, to hear that if you if we can help it. So

Melissa:

And I've got those cough drops powering me through, so that helps. The second is we're gonna change things up here a little bit at Chemistry For Your Life. And, the reason why is because I'd like to do a quick shout out. My mom is so sweet, and she's so, kind, and she would is a nice person. She would do Anything for anybody.

Melissa:

She's, like, so mild mannered. Have you ever met her, Jam?

Jam:

Yeah. I think couple times. Yeah.

Melissa:

Dee, would you agree she's Uh-huh. That way? Yes. She's so sweet. Everyone I've ever met loves her.

Melissa:

I've never met anyone. My dad is very polarizing. Uh-huh. Not my mom. And I was talking about a different podcast, and she said, oh, do do they talk a little bit about their lives at the beginning?

Melissa:

Mhmm. And I said, oh, yeah. They do. Almost all podcast do. You know, that's pretty normal.

Melissa:

And she said, and I said, why, mom? Why do you, why do you ask?

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

And her response was, I just don't really care about anyone's week, and I just wanted you to get right to why Jim's pot didn't boil. I thought it so funny. I was not offended at all. I thought it was hysterical that my mom who birthed me and brought me into this world and should really arguably care about My week more than anyone

Jam:

Right.

Melissa:

Didn't wanna hear about my week. Yeah. Yeah. Which I know she wants to hear about my She loves it when I call her. She just wanted to get straight to the sides.

Melissa:

Yeah. So we're gonna try for the next few episodes switching things up a little bit. Okay. And instead of doing our weekend review at the beginning, We're gonna do, something that made us happy about the week at the end.

Jam:

Okay. Sweet.

Melissa:

And this will make people like my mom and my roommate who are tired of hearing about my week.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Happy to hear about the science first. And then those of you who do care about my life and Jam's life

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

You can stick around and hear about it at the end.

Jam:

Hopefully, the media had kind of a happy medium. So it's not like such an extreme change that that, you know, now 1 camp, so to speak, is happy, and, you know, it's not anymore. Yeah. So, hopefully, that's the case, but we'll see.

Melissa:

I like hearing about people's lives on podcasts. So Yeah. I think, hopefully, you guys will appreciate that. If not, we would love to hear your feedback. We wanna hear from you guys.

Jam:

Yep.

Melissa:

Absolutely. Know.

Jam:

Don't hesitate.

Melissa:

Don't hesitate. Okay. You ready to get started?

Jam:

I am ready.

Melissa:

Great. So this week, do you wanna know what we're gonna talk about?

Jam:

Yes, please.

Melissa:

Do you remember when you asked what the scientific word for sticky was?

Jam:

Oh, yeah. I do remember that. What when was that?

Melissa:

I have no idea.

Jam:

I think yeah. What the heck?

Melissa:

When was that? I don't know.

Jam:

Oh, wait. Wait. Which episode did we talk about sugar on roads? Because that's, I think, when it came up.

Melissa:

Oh, it was the, all property.

Jam:

Property. So

Melissa:

didn't James pot boil that one time?

Jam:

Yeah. The one that your mom wanted to get through

Melissa:

the put

Jam:

the chase on. Yeah.

Melissa:

And so And I have we have a fun thing for that for the next q and r episode. Someone did a little bit of research on that. Woah. I'm really excited.

Jam:

Okay. Interesting. That's when that came up initially. I don't we were talking about how it would be sticky on the road or whatever and not. And then, yeah, I asked the question

Melissa:

I'm glad you remembered that.

Jam:

What is the scientific word for sticky? It's got something some word of it, something like that.

Melissa:

And I couldn't think of it, and there's a good reason why, but we'll get back to that later. But you know who did think of it?

Jam:

Who's that?

Melissa:

There's 2 people. The first person who wrote in was Adeel h.

Jam:

Oh, yeah. And we don't know him. He just Email that. That was pretty awesome.

Melissa:

Yeah. Thanks for writing in a deal. And then our 2nd person who wrote in was Josh c.

Jam:

Mhmm. Mhmm.

Melissa:

Yeah. So they wrote in, and they wrote in with the word adhesive. Uh-huh. Adhesive, which is a great thought. And I don't know.

Melissa:

That did not come to me at all, but I'll talk about why I think it didn't come to me.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So thank you, Adil and Josh, for writing in. That was really fun to get your responses, and we love to hear from listeners. That was great.

Jam:

Absolutely.

Melissa:

So let me ask you this, Jim. Okay. When you think of Sticky. What do you think of?

Jam:

Man, a few things come to mind. Like, we talked about the sugar kinda stuff. So sugary things come to mind is one of the first Things like you then you got your candies.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

I use honey on a pretty regular basis. Sesame that comes to mind for me is, like, It's I mean, I guess it is sugary, but, like, it's naturally

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Sweet, but it's sticky for sure. And, like, glue, I mean, I use I use all kinds of Different glues or wood glues, that's re recaulked our shower recently.

Melissa:

Oh, I don't like that word.

Jam:

I know. It's a kinda gross one. Yeah.

Melissa:

Yeah. I don't think I like a u l words. Just as a rule.

Jam:

I resiliconed our our shower recently. That was very sticky. So, those are the kinda things that come to mind for me.

Melissa:

Great. Well, I'll say this. So there's 2 categories of things we could go with. Okay. 1 is Sticky, the types of things you were talking about earlier.

Melissa:

Mhmm. Your honeys, your tape, your glue, your Mhmm. Silicon. That's our 1 category of sticky, and our other category is stuck together.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So that's That's different than what you think of when you think of sticky sticky honey or glue between your fingers. It's 2 things that have adhered to one another and are permanently stuck together.

Jam:

Okay. So, like, it's not about the feeling on those is what you're saying?

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So think of if you stick 2 things together with wood glue.

Jam:

Yes.

Melissa:

When you start

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

The wood glue is sticky. Yeah. When you finish, the wood glue has stuck 2 things together

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

But it's no longer Sticky feeling.

Jam:

Right. It doesn't feel sticky, but it is I mean, it is sticking. It is, like Yes. Doing what it's supposed to do.

Melissa:

It is stuck.

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa:

So I kinda wanna explore that. That was where I got hung up on. Because always in my education, I've learned these 2, Really, words for sticky, these 2 sigh quote, scientific words for sticky

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Adhesion and cohesion.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

And I always think of when something is adhered together, that stuck, not sticky Mhmm. But stuck. And so I got really in that's why I think why I couldn't think of the word adhere because I have that in 1 category Gory in my mind.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So in my research, I wanted to explore that. That sound good to you?

Jam:

Yes. It does. This distinction's, like, pretty interesting because I don't I don't think that It crossed my mind. It makes sense. I mean, it's just, like it had not really crossed my mind.

Jam:

I don't know.

Melissa:

Well, now all the forces behind Adhesion and cohesion, it all is a result things that stick together, I this is a broad statement, so I'm gonna qualify. But I think Uh-huh. Every single thing that is sticky or stuck together is as a result of the same thing.

Jam:

Okay. Do you

Melissa:

wanna know what that thing is?

Jam:

Yes, please.

Melissa:

It's a big jargony word.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

It's called intermolecular forces.

Jam:

Intermolecular forces. You've see have you used that phrase 4?

Melissa:

Mhmm. Okay. I have. So we use that, I think, 2 times.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

One time in the soap episode.

Jam:

Yes. Yes is yes.

Melissa:

And one time in a q and r episode.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So I'm just gonna give a really brief Overview of intermolecular forces. Okay. We don't have to dig too deep into them. We have talked about them before because they're at play in So many things.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

And I think in the next few episodes, we're gonna explore more of what they cause and more stickiness.

Jam:

This sounds like it's a kind of thing that could fit into the category of the dark side of chemistry. It's the it's the it the forces. You know

Melissa:

what I mean?

Jam:

The force

Melissa:

No. The force is good. May the force be with you.

Jam:

That's true. But isn't it the bad side too?

Melissa:

May the intermolecular forces be with you.

Jam:

Yeah. Okay. So maybe it is the good side then. Is that it?

Melissa:

The good side. Yeah. Okay. Because it It is it is underlying so many things.

Jam:

The dark side was the trans fats and stuff like that. Right?

Melissa:

Yeah.

Jam:

So this is the good side.

Melissa:

Unexpected Negative ramifications.

Jam:

Okay. Okay. So now

Melissa:

we have none of that here.

Jam:

Now we have the force. Okay. Good.

Melissa:

Okay. So we have the force. May the intermolecular forces be with you. Intermolecular forces are all they are

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

Is the forces between 2 molecules.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

The attraction between 2 molecules.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So when we talk about adhesion, adhesion is the attraction between 2 molecules that are different.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

So just pulling 2 off the top of my head, water and carbon dioxide.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

The intermolecular force between that is what causes them to be close to one another. Mhmm. On the other side, cohesion is what causes 2 the forces that cause 2 of the same molecule to be attached to one another.

Jam:

Okay. Co like their their bros. They're they're the same thing. Okay.

Melissa:

So water, 2 water molecules that are attached or drawn to one another, that is cohesion. Uh-huh. Water and something different, that would be adhesion.

Jam:

Okay. So you have a glass of water. You've got a lot of water molecules in there. Mhmm.

Melissa:

Cohesion.

Jam:

Cohesion. You've got carbonated water?

Melissa:

No. You've got regular water. No carbonated water too, but I was gonna Uh-huh. You've even got adhesion in your glass of plain water because it's the water and the glass molecules. Silicon dioxide, in case you're wondering.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Got it. I see you're saying okay. I was thinking about just the liquid itself. But you're saying, like, yeah. It's also, Obviously, it's staying in the glass.

Jam:

It's Uh-huh. Yeah.

Melissa:

Yeah. It's not just like force field around between the glass and the water, and the water is just floating inside the glass.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

Mhmm. So that adhesion is the water to the glass. Mhmm. Cohesion is water to itself.

Jam:

Nice. Okay. That's pretty simple.

Melissa:

You've got adhesion and you've got cohesion. Okay. And the reason those things stick together? Intermolecular forces.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So intermolecular forces, there's a range of different forces. There's Some basic ones that are present in everything.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

There are some really strong ones.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

Those really strong ones are called hydrogen bonding.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

It's between 2 molecules. And it as basically, as a result, just as a brief overview, as a result of the way the electron are arranged in the molecule. Okay. We talked about in the soap molecule, polarity in the soap molecule in the soap episode. Uh-huh.

Melissa:

Also in the soap molecule Uh-huh. There is polarity in that molecule.

Jam:

Right. Right. Right.

Melissa:

So that has to do with how the electrons are arranged in the molecule. If the electrons are bunched around one side

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

They're more negative there. Uh-huh. The absence of the electrons on the other side creates a positive. Okay. Because you know there's the positive center of the atom Uh-huh.

Melissa:

Surrounded by the negative electrons.

Jam:

Yeah. So if

Melissa:

the electrons are moved off to one side of the molecule, that side's gonna be more negative. Side's gonna be more positive.

Jam:

Do you remember that? Yes. I do. Yeah. And we talked about magnets.

Jam:

And so the like, is that being, like, there's, like, positive, negative? That's a common thing that we all deal with Yes.

Melissa:

With

Jam:

magnets. So Is are all the intermolecular forces to some degree dealing with some positive and negative stuff going on?

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Okay. So it's like, There's a lot of electron stuff, but at the at the basic level, it is positive and negative like we've talked about.

Melissa:

Yes. Exactly. That's great. So you've got it.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

And hydrogen bonding is basically a special type of very strongly polar.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Very negative on one side, very positive on the other to create a strong pull on either end.

Jam:

Okay. Okay.

Melissa:

Okay. So then when you have that present in a molecule, it can bond to other molecules better because their Negatives will line up with the positives and vice versa.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Does that make sense?

Jam:

Yeah. It does make sense.

Melissa:

Can you just say that part back to me real quick?

Jam:

So it sounds like Intermacular forces in general

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Are based on positive and negative, common sub molecule, and or magnets. And whenever you have really strong positivity and really strong negativity, if you estimate it has Really strong on both ends. When it is going to be bonded to something else, it has a much Stronger bond because it's positivity and negativity are really strong.

Melissa:

Yes. And that that was a great understanding. The only thing I'll, maybe tweak is it's not really a true bond as much as it is between 2 atoms. They're just closely held next to each other.

Jam:

Got it.

Melissa:

Got it. So rather than your fingers being stuck on your hands, imagine it basically holding hands with

Jam:

some amount.

Melissa:

Okay. Got it. So the the stronger the intermolecular forces, the Closer and more intertwined the 2 atoms are. Okay. And the weaker the intermolecular forces, the easier it would be to maybe break apart that hand holding.

Melissa:

My holding just 1 pinky. Okay.

Jam:

My I had a teacher one time who I don't know where she got these. I think it was, like, from Some super old speakers.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

She had these insanely strong magnets that she used on her marker board.

Melissa:

Oh, wow.

Jam:

And they were these, like they were, like, really Flat cylinders. They almost like like you know, like, this disc that are, like, watch batteries?

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

It was like that, but but really big.

Melissa:

Uh-huh.

Jam:

And it was so strong. I mean, I was, like, a kid, so I couldn't I couldn't pull it off, but she could as an adult. Yeah. So that comes to mind for me. Like, I've not encountered magnets that are, like, That strong

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Other than in that scenario? And they've always stuck in my mind, like, I kinda wish I could have some strong magnets like that.

Melissa:

I I think magnets, Magnetism is a result of something slightly different, but that's a good parallel that everyone has experienced.

Jam:

Right.

Melissa:

There's those weak magnets that fall right off your fridge every time you close the fridge door. Yeah. And then there are those strong magnets.

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

So weak intermolecular forces are that way where they'll basically, at the slightest bump, break apart.

Jam:

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Melissa:

And there are strong intermolecular forces where they will hold tight together.

Jam:

So it's okay for me to use that as my, like, Like, connecting

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

To the is an analogy, but it's not at all what's driving what's going on.

Melissa:

Yes. I

Jam:

can't use that to explain magnets, but I use magnets As an idea to explain this.

Melissa:

Exactly.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Sweet. So that's a really good understanding of intermolecular forces. And just remember, the strongest ones are called hydrogen bonding.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Okay.

Jam:

Got

Melissa:

it. Now that explains intermolecular forces explain everything that adheres or It's a cohereal word. Either has adhesion or cohesion present.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So they have you have intermolecular forces in Water. You have intermolecular forces in DNA. That's what hydrogen bonds are actually what caused that double helix.

Jam:

Oh, interesting. Mhmm. Okay.

Melissa:

There's intermolecular forces in, everything. Mhmm. I in the wood that I'm looking at, the cells that are present in our bodies have Intermolecular forces. Everything has intermolecular forces at play. Uh-huh.

Melissa:

If there's a molecule, there's intermolecular forces. Unless you have somehow isolated 1 molecule away from everything else in a vacuum Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how you could possibly do that. Well, that

Jam:

makes a little sense because it's in this, like, if there aren't, everything would just fall apart all the time.

Melissa:

Exactly.

Jam:

Like, we just all be, like, 1 massive Mhmm. Puddle of

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Gush.

Melissa:

And intermolecular forces are responsible for a lot of things. So they are gonna come up a lot through our Whole show forever.

Jam:

So this is a building block. I need to, like, definitely retain this. Not that I shouldn't other stuff too. But

Melissa:

Mhmm. Well, they're just gonna come back up a lot.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

So we know that 2 things that have adhered together likely have strong intermolecular forces between them.

Jam:

Mhmm. The

Melissa:

stronger the intermolecular forces are, the harder it's gonna be to break apart. Mhmm. So you can even think about this in boiling point. Something with a very low boiling point, it's easy to pull those molecules apart and turn it into gas.

Jam:

Oh, yeah. Mhmm. Okay. Interesting.

Melissa:

Something with a very High boiling point, it's harder to pull those things apart and turn it into gas. Mhmm. Mhmm. Okay? So water has Strong intermolecular forces.

Melissa:

It has hydrogen bonding. So it has a relatively higher boiling point than something that has not good intermolecular forces. Okay.

Jam:

Got it.

Melissa:

Let me ask you something. Is that stickiness, do you think?

Jam:

I guess it's not in the way that I might happen Like, yeah, that's I mean, that is the root Mhmm. Of what we mean when we say sticky even if we kinda have a We have have we found, like, an undefined category of what we

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Describe as sticky? Mhmm. And we don't typically think of it as, like, Everything even though it kinda is.

Melissa:

Yes. So that's kind of what I ran up against. So when I was thinking about adhesion, I was only thinking about That being adhesion and cohesion being molecularly things that stick together well Uh-huh. But my definition of sticky is something sort of different. Yeah.

Melissa:

And I think we have a lot of ideas of stickiness that we, imagine, like, sticky things like our fingers sticking this up. It's all has to do with this touch sensation.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

And I think that's different than the molecular King.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

Because something that has incredibly strong bonds or intermolecular forces, It's even often not even categorized as intermolecular forces, but our salts.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

They're so strongly bound together. Literally, one thing has lost and another thing has gained it. And it's so hard to break them apart. Their boiling points are astronomical. They'll usually just degrade before they will boil.

Jam:

Woah. Mhmm. Like, even, like, just, like, table salt kinda thing?

Melissa:

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Jam:

Woah.

Melissa:

Absolutely.

Jam:

Interesting.

Melissa:

And so you have table salt That has very strong intermolecular forces, but it's not sticky. Yeah. There's some Argument about that in the scientific community whether you can truly call an ionic bond an intermolecular force, That's a great area of science that doesn't matter a lot. Mhmm. I won't bore you with the details, but it gets the point across that I'm trying to make.

Jam:

Those things are very set together. Whatever you call it.

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

They're very set together.

Melissa:

Yes. They're very stuck together, and it's very hard to break those bonds. And it doesn't give the same Sensation of stickiness that we feel.

Jam:

Definitely not. I mean, even like yeah. Like, you get some water and some sugar, and it can get sticky. Water and salt doesn't. But Right.

Jam:

The salt is very much stuck together.

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

Well and then not the ions. Also, that's kind of a different case, but that comes up against Exactly the hard time I had in this research is What is stickiness that we feel?

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa:

I think it's something different.

Jam:

Yeah. It really is.

Melissa:

And I looked up some online, and, honestly, I wasn't satisfied with any of the answers because I could have a chemical argument for them the

Jam:

other way.

Melissa:

Got it. Okay. So My final judgment is that stickiness has 2 categories. Stickiness that we feel Mhmm. And how well things are stuck together.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

How well things are stuck together, adhesion for Two different molecules, cohesion for the same molecule. Mhmm. All about intermolecular forces. There's chemical bonds. Those are all things that are stuck together.

Jam:

Okay.

Melissa:

That's a chemical definition. I think what we experience is a particular thing that has to do with viscosity Uh-huh. And The presence of hydrogen bonding.

Jam:

So it is still sticky in the chemistry way

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

And also sticky in a Tangible way?

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Okay. Got it.

Melissa:

I think I think so. And I think this gets into some gray chemistry. I don't think we can Explain everything about the sensation of feeling in touch. Mhmm. If there's somebody out there that knows more about this, we'd love to hear from it and do a correction.

Melissa:

Mhmm. But hydrogen bonds are very strong intermolecular forces. They're different than ionic bonds, but they're very strong intermolecular forces. Mhmm. And they're present in sugar, Honey, all of those things that we traditionally experience as feeling sticky.

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa:

But there's also a viscosity to them. Yeah. Do you wanna explain what viscosity is just for the listeners at home? I've I've heard you talk about viscosity a lot. So I know that you know what that word means.

Jam:

Had to throw it around like, oh, yes. Viscosity. But my understanding is that it's just like It's it's something that's pretty thick. Like, it doesn't, like, water will just kind of Flow has, like it's easy for there to be droplets of it. You could, like, put some in your hand and just kind of or whatever.

Jam:

Yes. But other things like honey as the example I You're really thinking about sticky stuff. It's really thick. It it really wants to stay together. It really does not want to be pushed around.

Jam:

It's kinda stubborn.

Melissa:

So that is Oh, resistance to flow is basically, viscosity doesn't measure resistance to flow. Okay. And it has to do with more than just intermolecular forces. Mhmm. Interval molecular forces are at play, but with increased temperature, some of those intermolecular forces will break up, and it runs more.

Melissa:

Uh-huh. You know, you've experienced that with honey. Yeah. This morning, I was trying to put honey in my coffee that was iced. It did not work well.

Melissa:

Uh-huh. As it cooled down, it Resisted to flow even more. Uh-huh. So there's something to I think our feeling of stickiness that has to do with viscosity plus our experiencing of the intermolecular forces with As they interact with the oils or whatever is present on our fingers. Why are you laughing?

Jam:

I keep like, was trying to figure out if if I should say this or not, but it's gotta be chuckling. Okay. So

Melissa:

Oh gosh.

Jam:

So one of my roommates And I like to, on purpose, say words wrong that, like, are kind of near what is really intended. Yeah. As if it's like, We we do it pertaining like we're doing it on an accident.

Melissa:

For example, put specifically. You say pacifically a lot instead of specifically.

Jam:

Vicious and viscous

Melissa:

a really funny one.

Jam:

Like, yeah. That dog really turned really viscous all of a sudden.

Melissa:

That was just so strange.

Jam:

And doing that, Pretending like we don't know and just I mean, like, we think it's really funny for some reason. Oh. But the idea that people might think we actually have those things mixed up is really hilarious.

Melissa:

Jim, that's a weird sense of humor.

Jam:

Sumbiscus and Vicious is a funny one, specifically, and, specifically, it's really funny.

Melissa:

Okay. So The all that to say well, I think you overshadowed my point a little bit, which is I think that stickiness has to do with the way Not only the viscosity is the feeling that we experience as stickiness rather than how well bonded together 2 things are, how stuck together they are molecularly, I think has to do with viscosity in addition to hydrogen bonding, in addition to the way That the molecules in that substance interact with the molecules that are on our fingers. Yeah. I think all of that comes into play. So I do think it is a More complex issue than we can just answer by simply slapping hydrogen bond on there.

Jam:

Right. Right. Right.

Melissa:

But I think that hydrogen bonding answers the majority of the reason why.

Jam:

And all those things combined together to create a an uncomfortable thing that we try to get rid of as soon as we possibly can.

Melissa:

Yeah. But you got a

Jam:

little bit of honey left on your hand somehow. You were like, Get this away from me, please.

Melissa:

Like Absolutely.

Jam:

That's so funny.

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Man, science.

Melissa:

Science. So that's it. So do you think you got it?

Jam:

I think I got it.

Melissa:

Okay. So I want you to talk to me about stickiness. Teach me about stickiness.

Jam:

Okay. So stickiness, we typically think of just the feeling of it. Like, it's a a thing that feels sticky on our hands or in some way that we're interacting with it.

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

Honey, glue, Sugary things, whatever.

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

And so there's a a level to which on the chemical side

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

It's a build that you need to be sticky. Has a lot to do with, the intermolecular forces because it is able to actually Have things that stick together or in the case of a sticky substance, so we'd be we'd be using it the Adhesion because it's say the honey in our fingers, something like that.

Melissa:

Right.

Jam:

Mhmm. So it would be yeah. Us us interacting with something else, and it'd be stuck

Melissa:

to us. Combination of adhesion, the honey in your fingers plus the honey with itself.

Jam:

Right. Right. Right. Right.

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

That's that's the chemical kind of side

Melissa:

Mhmm.

Jam:

Like, deep on the molecular level. But then another thing that What we experience is really easy to see is how a lot of those substances are also really viscous

Melissa:

Yeah.

Jam:

And thick and and just Resistant to flow. Yep. And so that Both those sides. They're very visual, very easy to see with our eyes part, the viscous part, and the molecular part are what give us this very sticky experience.

Melissa:

Yes.

Jam:

Is that right?

Melissa:

Yeah. I think that's a great definition. Did

Jam:

I miss anything?

Melissa:

No. Think you got it. So that, I think, is the chemical the chemistry behind stickiness that we experience. Uh-huh. I think You did a good job of characterizing it, and then there's also the idea of how well stuck together things are.

Melissa:

And in my opinion, that's almost a different topic together.

Jam:

Because everything stuck together in some way.

Melissa:

Everything stuck together in some way. It's a much more complex, but I think you explained it well. I didn't realize I forgot to say, viscosity in addition to intermolecular forces and temperature has to do with the shape of molecules. We talked about shape of molecules And, how well they fit together in the margarine and trans fat episodes so you can listen back to that if you want some more. Yeah.

Jam:

The shape matters. Got it.

Melissa:

So and this is something we talk about in gen chem a lot is you'll learn these basics of chemistry, but there's a lot of gray areas or things that we Maybe don't know or you can't say a 100% sure. It's just this thing, and that was what I came upon today when I was researching this. There was more to it than just what I found to be available in my research. I think that there's a deeper level that we're missing or some explanations that aren't fully there.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

But I'm happy with what we landed on.

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa:

Okay. So That's our episode on the scientific definition of sticky. Now I wanna hear, what is one thing this week that made you happy?

Jam:

So one thing that made me happy this past week is I got to go to the beach. In Texas, we put air quotes around it because it's Galveston. It is a beach. I'm not too good for Galveston. It's just that a lot of people if you say beach, they might think you went to one of the, like, really well known ones or something like that.

Jam:

Like

Melissa:

White sand, blue water.

Jam:

Yeah. And and and over in this part of the Gulf of Mexico, it doesn't it's not quite as picturesque, but very enjoyable, very relaxing, went there with friends. It was fun. Drank a lot of coffee. Went on some runs around the beach and stuff.

Jam:

I saw this really cool dead fish that was, like Oh, gosh. At least bleached white, had some stuff, you know, crawling around in it and everything.

Melissa:

Crawling around in it?

Jam:

Took a photo of it. I'll absolutely share that on Instagram so you guys can all appreciate

Melissa:

what that is. Should put center over.

Jam:

Yeah. Yeah. We'll blur it or whatever. Something like that. It's really not super gross.

Jam:

The photo is not quite as much as as being, like I mean, that's how I guess a lot of dead things are that way. Yep. You know, seeing a photo of it, it's like, just looks like a fish. It's not really moving. Yeah.

Jam:

You can't see a lot of the detail or smell it. But in person smell. In person, there are a lot of sensory things.

Melissa:

We should talk about the chemistry behind that Smells.

Jam:

Oh my gosh. I have so many questions

Melissa:

about smell. That things smell bad to us, and we shouldn't ignore it. That's all I'm gonna say.

Jam:

Oh my gosh. So, yeah, that's mine. What about you?

Melissa:

Gosh. There are so many things to be thankful for. I'm feeling better. You know, when you feel better after you're sick, Suddenly, you're thankful for things that you're never thankful before, like breathing. Absolutely.

Jam:

Oh my god. Yes. For sure.

Melissa:

So I could talk all about that. Or Emily had this beautiful fall candle just set up for us when he walked into the studio.

Jam:

Hazelnut cream scented.

Melissa:

Oh, it smelled so good, like, fall when I walked in.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

So I could talk about all of those things, but I think That was my sneaky way of talking about 3 things.

Jam:

Yeah. What is kind of cheating?

Melissa:

What I'm gonna talk about is I I have some friends who are 6 years old. They're twins. Uh-huh. And, I lived with this family when they were first born, so I've known them their whole lives.

Jam:

Uh-huh.

Melissa:

And That's pretty cool. It's really cool. And it was so kind of that family to let me stay with them. And I got the opportunity to, someone at the place where I skate, the skating rink.

Jam:

Mhmm.

Melissa:

It's a STARZ Center, Gave us free tickets to the Stars game to where all 4 of us could go, and it was so fun. It was their 1st time on their train. It was their 1st time at a professional game. Uh-huh. And their eyes were so big.

Melissa:

They just they had so much fun, and it was so much fun for me to share something that I really like. And I remember When my dad took me to that 1st game

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

That is something that is in my mind forever. Mhmm. And so to know that they got to have that same kind of experience was So fun.

Jam:

Yeah. It's cool.

Melissa:

Yeah. We got to spend so much time together. So that was a really that was a very bright spot

Jam:

Yeah.

Melissa:

For me in my in my week.

Jam:

Oh, definitely. That sounds like that's not an average week either. That's like a cooler than you know? Like, that could be the thing that made you happy for, like, a month or whatever. You know what

Melissa:

I mean? So Yeah. So that was really fun. So I think that's gonna be my my thing that made me happy this week.

Jam:

So Cool. That's awesome.

Melissa:

Yeah. Well, thank you guys. Well, first of all, thank you so much to the Starz Center for those tickets. We wanna give a shout out and thank all of you for listening And for learning today, I hope you had fun learning about stickiness.

Jam:

Wilson and I have a lot of ideas for topics of chemistry in everyday life, But we definitely wanna hear from you. If you have any questions or ideas, you can reach out to us on Gmail, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook at chem for your life. That's Kim, f o r, Your life to share your thoughts, ideas, and questions. If you enjoy this podcast, you can subscribe on your favorite podcast app. And if you really like it, you can write a review on Apple Podcasts to help us to be able to share chemistry Even more people.

Melissa:

This episode of Chemistry For Your Life was created by Melissa Collini and Jam Robinson. Jam Robinson is our producer, And we'd like to give a special thanks to A.