Why Water Dissolves (Almost) Everything

Water can dissolve more substances than anything else on earth...so why doesn't it dissolve everything away?

LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
solvent: a substance that dissolves a solute
solubility: the relative ability of a solute to dissolve into a solvent

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CREDITS
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Kate Yoshida | Script Writer, Narrator and Director
Lizah van der Aart | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation
Aldo de Vos | Music

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

OUR STAFF
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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Arcadi Garcia i Rius
David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes • Alex Reich
Henry Reich • Peter Reich • Ever Salazar
Alexander Vidal • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

OUR LINKS
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REFERENCES
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Govorov, A. (1.28.2022), personal communication

[johnsteinat]

I loved the art in this. I was laughing at the angry water, all mad because it can't disolve pavement

[caltheuntitled]

Imagine if aliens with a completely different biology found earth and were freaked out at how casually we treat such a powerful solvent

[alecapristrudel]

It can also not dissolve stuff because they are kind of *too* polar to dissolve, like CaSO4 or other insoluble salts. Or just too long/branched of a polymer, like cotton, which is made of a bunch of sugars linked together and is very polar. It's full of hydroxyls. Honestly asphalt was close as an example but the others were off.

[cnasper]

Glass is arguably more "charged" than sugar so that's a quite inaccurate example. We use glass because the Si-O bonds and glass-structure is just so super duper strong/stabile that it just doesn't pay being dissolved

[frystalcrire]

teardrop, what are you doing in a minute earth video

[meee_]

We literally learned about this today in AP Chem (not specifically water but dissolving and polarity - and water was brought up because it is the universal solvent)

[Rubix_cube]

“Teardrop noooo! that was the Mona Lisa!”

[aaamogusthespiderever]

0:39 Teardrop has gained a new water laser ability!

[JonathanKayne]

I was pretty sure the whole reason most (if not all) life needs water to survive is _because_ it is the universal solvent.

[chillnotchillyt]

I love how Teardrop from BFDI is in the thumbnail lol

[takoizu]

I can’t believe Teardrop dissolved the Mona Lisa

[gragun]

Is that... Teardrop? AND WHY ARE THEY TAKING OVER A WHOLE VIDEO? 0:17 is my explanation.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

1:55 "I ❤ Minute Earth" Love that you wrote that for yourselves
Self-love is important nowadays. As Maya Angelou once said, "If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be"

[gordieboi]

Teardrop from BFB would never do this. Shaking and crying rn

[Blacklight.]

Wait a Minute(Earth)!
At 1:13 with the orange juice and blood...
Is that Tatsu from Way of the Househusband?
And later on at 2:06 was that Bubbles from PowerPuff Girls?
I love these references!

[otto_ueue]

I legit didn't knew BFDI Teardrop was that powerful, she must've consumed a lot of spinach.

[denifnaf]

0:25 teardrop from bfdi looks different

[BudgetCat]

THEY SHOWED TEARDROP FRO, BFDI-

Edit: HOLY **** IVE NEVER GOTTEN THIS MUCH LIKES

[jaredkennedy]

Looking at some of the wilder exoplanets with hydrocarbon rain, it makes you wonder if any aliens have seen Earth's surface drenched in this powerful solvent from afar and ruled out the possibility of life in this sort of environment.

[TheHeart_Autistic]

YOU FOOL! WITH YOUR THUMBNAIL YOU HAVE SUMMONED THE ENTIRE OSC!