What causes paper towels to absorb?
There is a force of attraction between water and paper fibers in paper towels which translates into absorption. This force is called capillary action. The water is written in the spaces between the fibers in the paper towels. As it is absorbed, the paper is soaked. Capillary action is the same energy by which plants extract water through the roots and also the method used when the sap of the trees is elevated. Paper towels absorb water by two methods: plant cellulose fibers absorb water and the microscopic areas between the fibers in paper towels are compared to a sponge and these spaces also absorb water.
Paper
Paper towels are created in the same way as you do all the paper. The plant material and the wood are ground until they become the fibers of microscopic plants, which consist of cellulose, which is what gives the wood its potency. Forty to 50 percent of wood is cellulose. The vegetal fibers are white bleached and pressed in thin sheets and ironed. This makes the paper.
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The process
Paper towels are made of cellulose, which makes them capable of absorbing water. In addition, the spaces between the fibers in the paper towel are compared to a sponge and these spaces also absorb water. Cellulose is fiber and a carbohydrate and consists of polymers, which are giant molecules. The molecules of sugar or glucose in the polymer chain are monomers.
Attraction
The (glucose) water and sugar molecules are attracted to each other and that's how paper towels manage to absorb water. Cellulose fibers have linked-up hydrogen and oxygen atoms at the outer edges of their sugar molecules, and the water being absorbed by paper wipes has two hydrogen atoms, one of which is attached to one of the oxygen atoms. The positive end of the water molecule is extracted from the negative part of the sugar molecule and the negative end of the water molecule is extracted from the positive part of the sugar molecule. When the water seeps into the paper towel and is absorbed, the molecules are hooked to the molecules in the cellulose fibers.
Final Movement Capillaries
When the paper towel is soaked this means the force of the upward traction is the same as the weight of the water, which is the force of gravity. The capillary movement then stops.