Is the electric force responsible for this phenomena?

[fluidistic]

I just used some species in a salsa for a couscous. The species were in powder form. When I put them in contact with the water of the salsa, they spread over a large part of the water' surface. It reminded me the electrons of a negatively charged conductor.
Whatever was the spice, the effect took place.
Is the electric force held responsible for such a behavior of little macroscopic particles? I know that the species are neutral but they could be somehow polarized, or not?
I've already seen this phenomena in many other opportunities.
I've also read the article http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=particle-dispersion-liquid but I don't understand it well.
What I understand from it is that the powder reduces water surface and thus the energy of the water decreases (why?), implying an increase of energy in the small macroscopic particles (*). Fine but shouldn't they spread slowly despite their fast velocities? Like when one opens a perfume, the smell being "fast" molecules takes time to reach a 1 meter distance because of the Brownian motion or so. (I'm not an expert on this, I might be wrong).


(*) But why doesn't the powder make pressure on water an increase the temperature of water, thus increasing the internal energy of water instead of decreasing it?


I'm confused.

 

[Vailanor]

Could someone explain this phenomena to me? The phenomena that you are observing is a result of the interplay between surface tension and solubility of the powder. When the powder comes into contact with the water, it dissolves and reduces the surface tension of the liquid, causing the particles to spread out rapidly. This is known as the Marangoni effect. The decrease in surface tension also causes the dissolved particles to diffuse away from the parts of the liquid that are more concentrated in the powders, creating a gradient of concentration which further promotes the spreading of the particles. As for why the powder does not increase the temperature of the water, this is because the powder is not providing enough energy to raise the temperature of the liquid significantly. The energy provided by the powder is instead used to reduce the surface tension of the liquid and promote the diffusion of the particles.

 

[astrokreng]

I can say that the electric force is not directly responsible for the phenomenon you described. The spreading of particles in a liquid is due to a combination of factors such as surface tension, Brownian motion, and the properties of the particles themselves. While the particles may be polarized, this does not necessarily mean that the electric force is the driving factor behind their movement.

The article you mentioned discusses the concept of surface tension, which is the force that causes a liquid to minimize its surface area. When particles are introduced into the liquid, they disrupt this balance and cause the surface area to decrease. This decrease in surface area results in a decrease in surface energy and an increase in the energy of the particles, causing them to move and spread out.

In terms of the powder reducing the water's surface energy, it is important to remember that energy is not always conserved in a system. In this case, the energy is being transferred from the water to the particles, causing the particles to have higher energy and move more quickly. This does not necessarily mean that the internal energy of the water is decreasing, but rather that the overall energy of the system is changing.

The spreading of particles in a liquid may seem similar to the diffusion of perfume molecules, but the mechanisms behind them are different. The particles in a liquid are constantly in motion due to Brownian motion, which is the random movement of particles in a fluid. This, combined with the disruption of surface tension, causes the particles to spread quickly.

In summary, the electric force is not solely responsible for the behavior of particles in a liquid. It is a combination of various factors that ultimately lead to the spreading of particles. I would suggest further research and reading on surface tension and Brownian motion to better understand the phenomenon you observed.