Why Is Syrup Sticky?

TL;DR

Sugar and water have tiny charges on them that act like magnets, causing them to stick together and create sticky liquids.

Transcript

This video was brought to you by our sponsor Blinkist. Water, on its own, is not sticky. And sugar, on its own, isn’t sticky either. But put sugar and water together in the right ratio – and add some heat – and you get a sticky, sticky, delicious, sticky mess. So why are all sugary liquids, from honey to molasses to maple syrup, so sticky? Well, it... Read More

Key Insights

• 💦 Water and sugar have charges on a molecular level, making them sticky.
• 💦 The small size of water molecules allows liquid water to flow and not be sticky.
• 💁 Sugar molecules in solid form are locked together, making them not sticky.
• 💦 When sugar is mixed with water, it creates a thick and viscous liquid due to the inability of sugar molecules to slide past each other easily.
• 💋 Syrup and glue work similarly in terms of sticking to surfaces.
• 💝 Sugar was once a rare commodity and was even gifted to the King of Spain as a treasure.
• 🥺 The discovery of extracting sugar from sugar beets and advancements in processing led to a massive consumption of sugar.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why are sugary liquids sticky?

Sugary liquids are sticky because both water and sugar have charges on a molecular level, causing them to stick together when combined.

Q: Why is water not sticky?

Water is not sticky because its small H2O molecules can easily slide past each other, allowing liquid water to flow and move around easily.

Q: Why is sugar not sticky in solid form?

Sugar is not sticky in solid form because its larger molecules are locked together, only exposing a few charges on the surface, which are not enough to make the crystal as a whole stick.

Q: Why do sugar and water create sticky liquids when combined?

When a sugar crystal is dropped in water, its molecules detach from each other and reattach to water molecules. The bulky sugar molecules cannot slide past each other easily, creating a thick and viscous syrup-like liquid.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Water and sugar have tiny charges that act like magnets, causing them to stick together and form drops and crystals.

• On an everyday scale, water is not sticky because its small molecules can easily slide past each other, while sugar is not sticky because its molecules are locked together in a solid.

• When a sugar crystal is dropped in water, its molecules detach from each other and reattach to water molecules, creating a sticky syrup-like liquid.