How does soap clean things?
HOW SOAP WORKS It all begins with water. Why won’t water just wash away dirt? Water molecules are made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms are on one side of the molecule and the oxygen atom on the other. The hydrogen atoms each have a single electron, which usually “hangs out” near the oxygen atom, which has eight electrons of its own. This creates a positive charge on the hydrogen side of the water molecule and a negative charge on the oxygen side. The positively charged hydrogen end of each water molecule is attracted electrically to the negatively charged end of other nearby water molecules. This attraction causes countless temporary bonds between water molecules, which are what makes water stick together. Within a container, or even a drop, of water, these bonds create a pull on all the molecules in every direction – except at the surface. The molecules at the surface have no molecules above them to pull on them, so they are only pulled by the molecule
