Almost every one of us came across the word "powder." It is quite common in everyday life. But not many people thought about its origin. About what is a "powder", its types and applications, later in the article.
Dictionary word
In order to understand what powder is, we turn to the explanatory dictionary, which gives the following description. This is the state of solids that have been crushed to the maximum extent by mechanical or other means. The particles are not interconnected, as a result of which the powders have an arbitrary, loose consistency.
They are widely used in various industries, in the national economy.
The origin of the word should also be mentioned. “Powder” is a diminutive form of the word “gunpowder”.
Kinds
Continuing the topic of what is “powder”, various types should be named depending on the scope, namely:
- drug;
- dental;
- abrasive;
- disputed;
- graphite;
- magnesia;
- talcum powder;
- flour;
- washing
- coloring;
- powder;
- powder.
As you can see, the term is used to refer to substances used in various fields. Some will be considered in more detail.
Drug
Studying what a "powder" is, consider one of its most common types - the medicinal one. This is a solid form of one or another therapeutic agent intended for external or internal use.
This form has a number of advantages, for example:
- increase and improvement of the therapeutic effect;
- convenience in the preparation of various mixtures;
- technological simplicity;
- convenience of transportation;
- increased shelf life compared with liquid forms of the same substances.
In addition to a large number of advantages, medicinal powders have some disadvantages, namely:
- rapid decomposition of the active substance under the influence of gastric juice;
- irritation of the mucous membranes;
- slow rate of exposure of substances to the body compared to the liquid form;
- if improperly stored, the powders often damp, and the active substance disappears.
Medicinal powders are classified by the number of ingredients, dosage, method of application. It should be noted that it is impossible to clearly identify which dosage form is better, it all depends on the specific disease, the characteristics of the patient himself, the substances used, individual preferences (sometimes for some reason the patient is preferable to take the powder).
Washing
Perhaps the most famous and most common of the varieties of powder is washing. Their modern modifications contain a whole mixture of various components, among which: nonionic and anionic surfactants (surface active substances), soda, sodium sulfate and sodium silicate (sometimes sodium chlorides).
Washing powder may contain optical and chemical brighteners, cationic surfactants, perfumes, various binders, soap and colored additives. It is considered a fairly popular detergent for clothing for a long time.
Recently, however, many people prefer to use a gel rather than a powder for washing. This is due not so much to product advertising as to a number of advantages of the latter. For example, more economical consumption and reasonable price. Gels do not leave stains on clothes, which often happens when using detergent. Although in this case, the main problem is the improper operation of the AGR.
Coloring
Studying the meaning of the word “powder”, it is necessary to touch on a sphere such as industry. In the 50s of the 20th century, an innovative way of coloring various materials was developed. It was called “powder” and has become a very popular alternative method in relation to “liquid” paint application.
Its principle is as follows: a special powder paint is sprayed onto the prepared surface. Particles of paint from an external source receive an electric charge and are transferred to the product using an electric field, excess powder paint is captured by a special air chamber. After that, the object is sent to a special chamber for "baking", polymerization.
After some time, a high-strength, monolithic coating is created on the surface of the product in the chamber. Monolithic application is achieved due to the fact that the particles are evenly distributed over the surface of the painted things due to the electric charge.
Polymerization technology, called "baking", in addition to improving the visual merits of the product increases the strength and durability of the painted surface.
This allows not only processing metal, ceramic, carbon and other parts, but also makes it possible to use them in various fields that were not previously intended. For example, polymer-coated wooden surfaces are not afraid of moisture and can be used, for example, to make bathroom furniture.