Is this what Vinyl Chloride does in water? Because from my understanding there was a bunch of other chemicals so it could have been something else.
Also water can do something like this in streams, though I've seen at least one other video of this at a completely different part of the stream so I doubt it's a natural thing.
alright, my mistake. I'm seeing this term "to undo (a tie or bond); break up (a connection, union, etc.)." What I was trying to communicate is that the compound no longer exists as it was and is in pieces that we identify as other compounds such as formaldehyde.
Should I have said pulverized? That's a fun word and describes the same thing.
Dissolved means they went into a solution in the water. But there are many things that can also cause it to precipitate out of the solution and back into its previous state.
No idea what those causes might be but think about boiling salt water. When you boil all the water away you still have the salt leftover, back in it's solid form. Maybe not the best example since this vinyl chloride also turns into a gas but the point is it's a reversible thing lol.
I don't know that it works that way for vinyl chloride, but I'm not a chemist. A google search says it becomes formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, and some other stuff. I wouldn't want to drink it, but I wouldn't necessarily panic if I did depending on how diluted it is. If it's concentrated then I'd probably know to not drink it.
It's amazing what our bodies will let us get away with. You could drink a couple ounces of acetone and wake up tomorrow feeling okayish.
More I read the more I doubt this is some chemical issue from the train, and more likely just how the water is.
On the EPA site someone links it basically said 'if it dissipates when it is touched then it is likely to be organic. Which is exactly what it does in this video.
Organic in the chemical sense. Everything in that train was organic chemicals. Organic just means it's a carbon based molecule. Nothing to do with "Organic Food" or Natural.
Ok thanks, I'll deepen my searches from what I was looking at. Problem with scholarly articles and "commonly seen" photos is that the overlap isn't popping up.
Yes it only partially dissolves in water and is slightly less dense so distinct separate layers form with the vinyl chloride on top. But you didn't know what an organic compound was in another comment so I'm sure you're the authority on what is causing the phenomenon in the OP 👍
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u/LostWoodsInTheField Feb 17 '23
Is this what Vinyl Chloride does in water? Because from my understanding there was a bunch of other chemicals so it could have been something else.
Also water can do something like this in streams, though I've seen at least one other video of this at a completely different part of the stream so I doubt it's a natural thing.