I’m sure there are a lot, I’m just curious to know. And I don’t mean unrelated on a chemical level - I mean on a logical level.
So if something’s like Borax/Boric Acid, where I’ve heard it’s used for laundry, for poison ivy, for killing cockroaches… that’s pretty neat.
If possible, please provide a layman’s explanation of what makes the chemical so good for those purposes.
Lots of chemicals have multiple and unrelated uses. My favorite example:
Potassium Chloride. The main chemical sued for lethal injection. Also sold in stores as a salt substitute seasoning. :eek:
I like good old salt. Sodium chloride.
Almost unlimited uses.
Food flavoring and preservative
Deicer
Dye fixative in old processes
etc
etc
etc
How about lithium carbonate? Used for decades to treat mood swings/bipolar disorders in the mental health field, and has loads of engineering/building applications eg glass manufacturing, cement additive etc.
My favorite is nitroglycerine. Explosives and Heart Medication – can’t get much farther apart than that!
(I understand that other explosives also can be used medically, but NG is the best known example.)
Ethanol. Used for cleaning, fuel, and of course recreational purposes.
The obvious one…
Water.
Drinking, recreation, solvent, coolant
I say, start with the basics. Ignoring all the different detailed applications, good old H2O is used in a huge variety of ways:
as
a solvent
a mechanical force transmitter (hydraulics)
(washing uses both the solvent and mechanical properties)
a non-reactive liquid carrier (water-based paints, etc.) and a non-reactive medium for sustaining chemical reactions
a liquid coolant
a solid coolant
a liquid heat conductor (e.g. boiling pasta)
a vapor heat conductor (e.g. steaming vegetables, steam radiators)
for turning heat into mechanical motion (steam generators)
a seal against vapors (plumbing trap)
[arguably as an electrical conductor, but it has to be doped with something to do that]
In some cases, as a solid building material (ice roads, snow berms, igloos), and in extremely limited cases as an insulator (snow shelters)
I’m sure others can add to this list!
Water is also used in at least two ways for transportation (ships and barges float in the stuff, and steam engines use the stuff to transmit power).
I’ll add Hydrogen Peroxide to the list.
Baking soda–cleaner, whitener, polisher, abrasive, medicinal, deodorizing, absorbant. It does it all, and is completely non-toxic and environmentally friendly. AND very very cheap.
I may be going out on a limb here, but … all of them.
Okay, yes, I suppose that’s probably true, but I’m looking for common uses, particularly ones that are just so different as to raise eyebrows. Nitroglycerin is an excellent example.
Lye (sodium…hydroxide?): make soap with it, speed decomposition, clean your oven, and mercerize cotton (that is, make it shinier and more porous to dyes).
It’s also a carbon-dioxide absorber in rebreather scuba gear, and a corrosion inhibitor in boiler waters.
Graphite: temporary dye (of sorts) and lubricant
Why, how about Sal Ammoniac, a.k.a. ammonium chloride?
According to Wikipedia, it’s used as:
an electrolyte in dry-cell batteries
a fertilizer for rice
flux
a cleaner for soldering tips
a feed supplement for cattle
an ingredient in shampoo
part of the glue in plywood
an ingredient in nutritive media for yeast
an ingredient in cough medicine
a spice for liquorice-type candies
a flavoring for vodkas
Protean, am I not?
Also a structural material, when combined with epoxy. (Though I admit I never understood that one - how can something be soft enough to write with, and hard enough to be a structural material?)
I think ammonium nitrate has to have the most disparate uses of anything.
High nitrogen fertilizer for crops.
Explosive for industrial and terrorist purposes.
Main ingredient in instant cold packs for sports injuries.
My current favorite: Warfarin
Rat poison, and blood pressure medication. I gave my father rat poison!