At 03:45 PM 4/29/97 EDT, you wrote:
>I forgot where I learned this from, but I remember being told that a
>single drop of dishwashing liquid (ie- Palmolive, Dawn, et al) in the
>radiator breaks the surface tension of the water.
>
I worry about science discussions on this list. After all this is a car
discussion group.
Or maybe its just because I am an ex-chemist, approaching geezerhood.
Soap as well as alcohols are "wetting agents", meaning they do break the
surface tension of the water. And to be sure, it would help the heat
transfer efficiency. But the effects would be very small - the heat
transfer is more affected by the quantity of coolant, its flow rate, and
other factors.
Perhaps in hotter regions, the small difference it would make to help the
engine run cooler may be of benefit.
I believe some of the glycol additives already serve as wetting agents. So
I would be surprised if you got more than a 5 degree F reduction out of
using a tincture of soap.
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