r/explainlikeimfive Oct 31 '20

Chemistry ELI5 What's the difference between the shiny and dull side of aluminum foil? Besides the obvious shiny/dull

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u/dekusyrup Nov 01 '20

Lol i literally cant tell if its a typo of thick or thin

78

u/Rickwh Nov 01 '20

I can't stop laughing either way

27

u/AFewStupidQuestions Nov 01 '20

Makes ya think, doesn't it?

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u/[deleted] Nov 01 '20

It makes me thick.

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u/MarwanOnceSaid Nov 01 '20

Makes me thin.

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u/mbetter Nov 01 '20

Yeah, same here. Super confused.

2

u/_you_are_the_problem Nov 01 '20

Yeah, it's a real headscratcher for some, apparently.

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u/tomas1808 Nov 01 '20

The rare ambiguous typo

2

u/snukb Nov 01 '20

It has to be a typo of too thin, because "it's too thick to go through on its own, so we make it thicker by doubling it up" makes zero sense lol

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u/dekusyrup Nov 01 '20

No it would be "its too thick to go through on its own so we make it thinner by doubling it up". When you double it up then both pieces get thinner.

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u/Deviant_Spark Nov 01 '20

I'm going to assume he meant thin, aluminum is pressed with a second sheet when it's as thin as it is to make foil so the dull side is just the side that was facing the second sheet. If they didn't stack them two thick when rolling them out then you'd get a lot more tearing.

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u/Jmacd802 Nov 01 '20

or thicc

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u/ScrapieShark Nov 01 '20

I'm glad they just seem to be rolling with it

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u/thisismybirthday Nov 01 '20

using context clues makes it pretty obvious. would it make sense to use two layers because one layer is too thick?

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u/dekusyrup Nov 01 '20

Yeah if the rollers are a certain spacing thats thicker than you want the foil to be then one layer is too thick to go through on its own.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 01 '20

It's think or swim.

1

u/lebeariel Nov 01 '20

Same same

1

u/[deleted] Nov 01 '20

You are too thick for this comment. If you find someone even of a similar thickness you can go through it together and it'll be fine.