up vote 13 down vote favorite
3
share [g+] share [fb]

I've heard the claim that "Margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic" several times. Usually from friends who think they've heard it from some reliable source. I've also read a couple books that mention this concept, without really addressing its validity.

Is there any truth to this claim?

link|improve this question
70% accept rate
1  
It should be, put a slab of it in your garage, insects won't eat it and it will still be there a year later. Possibly the worst substance a person could eat. Take any natural oil or Fat and attach a hydrogen molecule to the oil molecules and you have margarine....en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine#Manufacture – Moab Sep 25 '11 at 5:31
@Moab: I haven't bought margarine for years... I've been a fan of real butter since before it was popular to be a fan of real butter. :) But that doesn't really answer this question (although it may answer the motivation for the claim this question is about). – Flimzy Sep 25 '11 at 5:32
the Wikipedia article answers it, hydrogenated oil/fat and long string polymers have nothing in common. I have been a fan of butter all my life, I tried Margarine, it was nasty!, all I could say about it is that it was low cost. – Moab Sep 25 '11 at 5:56
1  
Is it possible that the original claim was meant to be "one ATOM away from plastic"? This would almost make sense since both can be produced from oils. Not that it matters if it is true or not. – John Rhoades Sep 26 '11 at 14:54
4  
Heck, water is one atom away from pure hydrogen. So careful turning on that faucet, or you might blow up your house. – Kyralessa Oct 4 '11 at 1:25
show 1 more comment
feedback

1 Answer

up vote 13 down vote accepted

It's a bit of a confused claim.

First, what is a "molecule"?

A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge. However, in quantum physics, organic chemistry, and biochemistry, the term molecule is often used less strictly and applied to polyatomic ions.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Note: We are talking organic chemistry here. Basically, a group of atoms bonded together.

Now, what is "plastic"?

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.

[Source: Wikipedia]

So, there isn't one single type of plastic - and typically they are made of huge molecules. My high school chemistry teacher claimed a plastic ice-cream container was in fact a single molecule, due to all the cross-linked bonds between the long chains of atoms.

[UPDATE: This claim has been challenged. See related question. This undermines the forcefulness of the following argument, but doesn't affect its validity.]

So, we can say "Water is one molecule away from being a plastic ice-cream container." or "A vacuum is one molecule away from being a plastic ice-cream container."

Given that, "Margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic" is a confused claim that is both true and does not tell us anything about margarine.

link|improve this answer
1  
Just to add: a very common type of plastic is polyethylene which is a macromolecule of ethylene. Sadly, I can't find what is margarine made of (read: I'm lazy), but I have an hard time believing that margarine would be one functional group away (by addition or subtraction) from a large chain of ethylene. – Borror0 Sep 22 '11 at 3:36
2  
@Borror0 the main ingredient in most margarines is plant and/or seed oils, like canola or sunflower oil. The canola council of Canada claims Canola oil is 61% oleic acid and 21% linoleic acid. Oleic acid is CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH. – jozzas Sep 22 '11 at 3:41
2  
Hmmm... I skipped over the last bit of your answer, thinking you were going to say the obvious. I wish I had not because you're wrong. An ice-cream container isn't "one molecule" in any shape or form. Plastic (well, all polymers) are pretty big molecules, but they are not made of a single molecule. Intermolecular links can be very strong (Kevlar, for example, takes part of its strength from hydrogene bonds), but there are many molecules in a plastic container. – Borror0 Sep 22 '11 at 3:48
3  
@jozzas: So, if margarine was only oleic acid (for simplicity's sake), then you'd still need to remove the =CH(CH2)7COOH part and then add (CH2)n-CH3 to get polyethylene. That's still "two molecules" away. And also "a confused claim that is both true and does not tell us anything about margarine." – Borror0 Sep 22 '11 at 3:53
1  
@jozzas: Dietary fats and oils are primarily triglycerides; these molecules combine one glycerol backbone and three fatty acid tails. Since the backbone is the same, the Canola council doesn't mention it and just specifies the type of fatty acids. Pancreatic lipase breaks down triglycerides in the intestines. So that's yet another chemical step omitted. – MSalters Sep 22 '11 at 8:54
show 5 more comments
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.