Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or being a substance capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved. Used especially of detergents, wetting agents, and emulsifiers.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective capable of
lowering thesurface tension of aliquid
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid; used especially of detergents
Etymologies
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Examples
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These “surface-active” molecules have many other applications as well.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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These “surface-active” molecules have many other applications as well.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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Type: surface-active or chemosorptive substance, tensides for selective separation of various non conductors
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The introduction of a surface-active substance triggers a synergy with the fat and it helps break down the protein layer in a more efficient way.
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• A fourth ingredient is found extensively in cosmetics and is also used as a surface-active agent and emulsifier for agents used in food contact.
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To solve this, horses appear to have evolved a surface-active, detergent-like protein that they release at unusually high concentrations in their sweat
PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Rhona E. McDonald et al. 2009
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Wetter-spreaders: Contain surface-active ingredients - surfactants - that reduce the contact angle of the spray droplet on the target.
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A little surfing reveals that the bottle contains "Anion surface-active agent 0. 5wt%".
Ask MetaFilter Kevin S 2009
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A shortened form of three words "surface-active agent", surfactants stabilize mixtures of oil and water by reducing the surface tension at the interface between the oil and water molecules.
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& Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom Horses are unusual in producing protein-rich sweat for thermoregulation, a major component of which is latherin, a highly surface-active, non-glycosylated protein.
PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Rhona E. McDonald et al. 2009
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