It's funny how that goes: elements that react violently often form strong bonds, so make stable and safe compounds.
this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2025
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Sometimes that goes for relationships too.
Sometimes, but most of the time it only multiplies and one or both partners or someone(s) not part of the relationship gets badly hurt physically and/or mentally.
Yet in soup, or your mouth, NaCl will freely dissolve into its constituent parts. Which is totally fine, because electrons or something.
Yeh, the "strong bonds" actually don't matter, it's the strongly attached electrons
how so?
Atoms are most stable when they have a certain number of electrons around them, described as "having a full shell". A neutral chlorine atom is one electron short of having a full shell, and a neutral sodium atom has one electron more than a full shell. Therefore, neutral chlorine will rip an electron off just about anything, causing damage, while neutral sodium will push its extra electron away, same deal. That is why they are such reactive chemicals. Once they've done that process they are stable.
Then, as the other poster described, they are oppositely charged, so they are attracted to each other with medium strength, but not strongly bonded, which, to simplify it somewhat, is when atoms share electrons which both of them would like to have.
ah right I knew most of that but it didn't click, thx
Ok so my understanding is that NaCl, and other salts, are bound together by ionic bonds.
In these bonds, one element typically gives up an electron completely to the other, as opposed to covalent bonds for example, where the electron (or electrons) are actually "shared" between the atoms.
So here, sodium is happy to give up its electron and live its life as Na+, while chlorine will gladly take it and become Cl-.
Since they now are oppositely charged, they kinda stick to each other because of electrostatic attraction, but not like the atoms in a molecule would.
ah right so in the soup it dissolves into Na+ and Cl- which are nonreactive as opposed to Na and Cl
While I do like the principle, in this specific instance I don't think it's correct.
When sodium reacts with water it doesn't produce salt (NaCl), but sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
This is better known as lye, and it's a strong base and highly caustic, so definitely not a safe compound.
Edit: the other product of this reaction is hydrogen gas, which technically is stable, but also highly flammable...
Every time I make soap, I’m really tempted to take the lye and do the Fight Club thing to my hand. (Inner edgy fourteen year old never grew up)
Shit gets hot fast.
This is one of the worst intrusive thoughts I've read yet, bravo
My friend literally did it. They did the whole scene at a party. He put a ton of lye on. Made a badass scar, he did have to go to the hospital though.
Good realization - memes are inadequate oversimplifications that are entertaining but shouldn't be mistaken for "information".
Yes, in general forming bonds releases energy and breaking them takes energy. The simplified explanation I remember is that multiple particles are more energetic when they're apart, because they're moving around separately. When they join together in a single molecule, moving as one, they give up some of their kinetic energy as heat. Breaking the bonds requires energy to be put back in so the pieces can move around independently again.
O2: I am the reason things burn.
+
H2: I make the sun burn.
=
H2O: I destroy houses by flooding, I kill people by drowning them, I am used by CIA for torture (waterboarding).
Maybe NaCl is just scared by the H2O in the soup and its parents.
H2O2: Don't confuse me for H2O
Back in college one time the President of the US visited our campus and gave a speech. The security was intense - Secret Service on rooftops and a helicopter that dropped off the Pres and then spent the whole time he was there hovering maybe 60 or 80 ft up, dead still, like it was glued in the air - I thought that part was pretty cool. Anyway a friend of mine chose that day to toss a little chunk of sodium in a fountain out in front of the chemistry building. I wasn't right there but I heard it made a big pop sound, yellow flash, and sent a column of water shooting up. Dunno if the agents saw it, heard it or both, but man were they scurrying all over the place for a while.
Which president?
Ford. I'm old as dirt. In fact dirt and I were in Miss Hanson's class together.
Wow, Probably the most forgetable president in recent history. Definitly not the worst though. Clinton was president when I was born. I grew up with Bush in the white house and I thought that was as bad as it could get. I realize now we were eating good with Bush, comparitivly speaking anyway.
Let me tell you about a fellow named Nixon...
Nixion was a very naughty boy
That rascal!
A rascal Indeed
One part of this food additive is a dangerous explosive. The other part of it is a poisonous gas.
Ban sodium-cloride now!
I did NaCi that coming
Ironically, salt has probably killed more people than both Sodium explosions and Chlorine gas combined.
And oxygen kills everyone who dies of old age.
Stealth attack!
Snails:
this blows my mind about chemistry.
reminds me of some of the insane stuff nilered does on youtube.
Is it just me, or is NaCl a little too quiet?
Some real swords into plowshares shit, gotta love it.
Its all safe and good until it touches iron.
The takeaway is that memes aren't "information" to help you form your opinions. Memes are little entertainment blobs that vastly oversimplify and exaggerate complex ideas for brevity. Everything in this specific meme is literally true, but they aren't related. There's no contradiction or irony, it's just how chemistry works - it's often not simple or intuitive, and neither are a lot of other things summed up in memes.
Everything in this specific meme is literally true
There's no contradiction or irony, it's just how chemistry works
Yes, that's what makes it such a humorous situation.
Exactly, that's how memes work - and I was pointing out how this is true of memes in general, which is why they aren't good information sources.
Sir, this is a wendy's