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West_47 t1_j2toqdr wrote

I have absolutely no idea what most of those words mean, but it sure sounds interesting.

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iamthewargod t1_j2tp4vd wrote

At a certain temperature and pressure, water will mix with non-polar substances e.g. oils and gas(petrol).

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catlaxative t1_j2tshw8 wrote

Is that useful?

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iamthewargod t1_j2tsvir wrote

According to the article, it is used to dispose of certain carcinogenic waste.

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catlaxative t1_j2tu333 wrote

Thanks! I looked at the article but went cross eyed at all the science words lol

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picklefluffer t1_j2u0uma wrote

So basically, by doing some fancy science stuff with water, we can safely dispose of some other dangerous stuff? I’m on board 👍

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igcipd t1_j2urmpe wrote

I mean, we don’t need it to get to that point to drown our carcinogenic people…..

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Molotov56 t1_j2u3a2x wrote

Is it possible to dissolve a lipophilic compound in supercritical water?

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Yudmts t1_j2ubbvf wrote

If that's true (presumably yes) my whole life is a lie

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EmotionalDare2919 t1_j4ermi1 wrote

Yes, and no. It's a sliding scale, dependent on the polarity of the target, and if it can withstand the elevated temp and pressure. The higher the temp of the water, the less Polar it is. At some point, most lipids will decompose. The whole thing also needs to be pressurized to stay supercritical. Most common lipids cannot withstand these conditions.

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ByzantineBomb t1_j2ubmt6 wrote

The coolest part of this image to me is that at a low enough temperature, pressure can be added to steam to turn it into ice and then with a little more, into a liquid!

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PeachSnappleOhYeah t1_j2ukc73 wrote

> In addition, the behavior of water as a solvent is altered (in comparison to that of subcritical liquid water) - it behaves much less like a polar solvent.

simple

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Pricefieldian t1_j2wr86j wrote

TIL i understood about 10% of OPs headline

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bit1101 t1_j2tuam3 wrote

People can also become bipolar when they reach a supercritical state. Maybe I'm reading it wrong.

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