WEBVTT - How Does Silica Gel Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hi, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sager. This is brain stuff And today's question is

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<v Speaker 1>what is silica gel? And why do I find little

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<v Speaker 1>packets of it in so many things? I mean, that's weird, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Why would my new boots and my beef jerky be

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<v Speaker 1>packed with the same stuff. Silica or more precisely, silicon

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<v Speaker 1>dioxide is the same stuff that quartz in sand are

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<v Speaker 1>made of. It's a desiccant, meaning it adds orbs and

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<v Speaker 1>holds water vapor. And that's ads orbs with an ad

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<v Speaker 1>not absorbs. When we say that something ads orbs moisture,

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<v Speaker 1>we mean that water molecules adhere to the surface of

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<v Speaker 1>the material. Think of the way that sand can seem

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<v Speaker 1>to soak up water. The water is really just adhering

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<v Speaker 1>to each grain. Basically, silica gel does the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>It's covered in millions of tiny pores that can retain moisture.

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<v Speaker 1>It can actually adds orb about forty of its weight

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<v Speaker 1>in moisture and can thus reduce the relative humidity in

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<v Speaker 1>a closed container down to around So you'll find silica

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<v Speaker 1>gel packs and anything that would be affected by excess moisture.

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<v Speaker 1>It's in with leather products, where it can limit the

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<v Speaker 1>growth of mold. You'll see it packaged with electronics to

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<v Speaker 1>reduce condensation, and because silica gel is nearly harmless, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>find it preventing spoilage in foods like pepperoni. You still

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to eat it, though. If you emptied out

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<v Speaker 1>a packet and ate the beads, they would begin adsorbing

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<v Speaker 1>moisture from your tongue, gums, and the rest of your mouth.

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<v Speaker 1>Your first instinct would probably be to spit it out.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you did swallow it, well, okay, probably you'd

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<v Speaker 1>be fine. But not all silica gel is the same.

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<v Speaker 1>Some has a toxic coating of cobalt chloride. Swallowing this

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<v Speaker 1>stuff probably won't kill you, but it might cause nausea, vomiting,

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<v Speaker 1>and a few other less than awesome symptoms. And when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to keeping things dry, silica gel works pretty well,

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<v Speaker 1>which is why it's so widespread. It's also found in

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<v Speaker 1>vitamin containers, industrial air systems, and oddly enough, containers of

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<v Speaker 1>cat litter. And this stuff is reusable. You can dry

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<v Speaker 1>it out by heating it in an oven at about

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred degrees fahrenheit. That's about one fifty degrees celsius,

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<v Speaker 1>and people have found all sorts of ways to reuse it.

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<v Speaker 1>There might be too many to list. I mean, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess I can try. Here. It goes protecting papers

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<v Speaker 1>from humidity, drying flowers, preventing rust on tools, preventing condensation

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<v Speaker 1>on windows and inside picture frames, preserving art in display cases,

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<v Speaker 1>mitigating small spills in luggage, slowing silver tarnishing, stopping seed mold,

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<v Speaker 1>and preventing camera lens from fog. Check out the brain

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<v Speaker 1>stuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this and

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