Soap
material · 2800 BC · Ancient world
Salts of fatty acids used for cleaning.
Principles and materials it uses
- Lime — uses. The alkali for soapmaking was obtained from ash and lime.
- Soda ash — is made of. An alkali.
- Surfactant — uses. Soap is a surfactant.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Synthetic detergent — evolved into. Synthetic detergents were invented in the First World War, when fat for soap ran short.