who invented soap and how does it work?
963521
I'll answer the last part of your question first. Soap is made up of polar molecules. That just means that one end of each molecule is different from the other like the poles of a magnet. One end dissolves in grease and fats while the other end dissolves in water. Since most really dirty things are fatty and greasy, this means that one end of each soap molecule sticks to the dirt on your hands while the other end sticks to the water running over them. This washes the dirt away. Why not use plain water? If you don't have soap plain water will help get you clean but because of surface tension water won't stick to grease so you will never get completely clean. Another class of cleaners solves this problem. Detergents reduce the surface tension of water allowing it to clean better. Look at the list of ingredients on your cleanser. If one of them is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, your cleanser is a detergent. Now for the first part of your question. Long ago people found that you could make a cleaner by heating lard (renderings from animals killed for food) with potash, an alkali produced by burning wood, probably for cooking the aforementioned food. This discovery was probably accidental, the result of being in the right place at the right time. It took place so long ago that the discoverer (or discoverers, it probably happened in several places at different times) is lost in history. BTW. It's no coincidence that many of today's soap producers are owned by or connected to slaughter houses and meat producers. Do some research on Procter and Gamble. Your teacher will be proud of you.
93916
G. W. Carver was a chemist, who also created Peanut Butter.\nHe's also made some improvements and suggested uses for certain common items of the day, like axel grease and adhesives.
637715
Try here\nhttp://www.soapcentral.com/oltl/index.php
1067124
Actually it is the soap in combination with the warm water with the friction that makes you clean.  At least that is what they taught me at work in our little class on how to wash your hands.
124233
I don't know who invented it but it's more hygenic than a normal solid soap.
632045
No one invented electricity. It was discovered.\n\ntosmith
163438
fat + lye = soap + glycerol\nNeed details?\nSee the site below for a balanced equation for a typical fat reacting with sodium hydroxide to form a soap.
904092
A soap is a surface active agent, which  means it attaches to the surface of a substance or slightly alters the surface energy of the substance.  When two materials are brought into contact suchs as two liquids or a solid and a liquid, or two solids, the differences in the surface energies will determine whether the are immiscible or , in the case of solids, one wets the surface of another or simply beads up on it.  \n\nThe best "soap" needs to be chosen based on what the liquid chemistry is.  For example, if you want to mix a material in water or alcohol or oil.  Each could require a different "soap" to be used.
432816
The other soaps all have their "claim to fame"  but they will all clean and remove dirt.  Some have special deodorizers in them to take away funky smells.  Some have special skin softeners (like dove) and perfumes.  Some are extra mild with no smells and additives (like ivory).  All soaps that work properly will remove the dirt and will wash away germs that make it so bacteria don't want to be there.
442430
with soap and water i guess
1034711
if your qouestion is that how is  soap made ?\ni must say that with mixing the an ester such az R-COOR and NaOH we can get soap plus alcohol.\nNaOH+RCOOR------------RCOONa +ROH
735055
a) Sodium stearate, a soap, forms a scum on bath tubs and shower screens with either magnesium, calcium or iron(II), as these salts are insoluble. For example:\n\n2CH3(CH2)16COONa  +  Mg^2+  ---> (CH3(CH2)16COO)2Mg  + 2Na^+\n\nb) Adding dilute HCl acid to soap, produces a greasy solid, which has its uses in cosmetics:\n\nCH3(CH2)16COONa  +  HCl  --->  CH3(CH2)16COOH  +  NaCl\n\nI hope that helps. If you need more assistance, please email me or re post.
630835
Its a soap. How many soaps do you know that are real?
437597
This website has a very nice description of how to make homemade soap\n\nhttp://www.teachsoap.com/soapmakingmethods.html
899395
What you are seeing is surface tension.  Water molecules have an attraction to each other.  They sort of "hold on" to the water molecules allowing the level to rise without spilling over.  \n\nIf you create the bubble by adding pennies and add a drop of dish detergent you will see that the soap breaks that surface tension and the water will spill.
463201
Used to be used in the manufacture of soap, I believe.
492244
I think I heard this answered before somewhere. If I remember corretly it's that the amount of coloured pigment in the soap is tiny. When 'foamed up' the actual foam is only a few microns thick...so thin that the colour pigment (which was a small % in the first place) can't be seen?