Chemical bond during touching

[Artemon]

do people create a chemical bond when touched?

[DirtyChai]

Not sure what you mean.

But when I shook a co-workers hand once, he noticed that my index finger extended out toward his wrist as if I was feeling his pulse.  It was completely involuntary on my part.  It's just the way I shake hands.  It clearly caused a chemical reaction in his brain and we bonded as best friends.

[Strange]

26 minutes ago, Artemon said:

do people create a chemical bond when touched?

Only metaphorically. 

[DirtyChai]

Deleted for frivolity.

Edited December 13, 2018 by DirtyChai

[Artemon]

5 minutes ago, Strange said:

Only metaphorically. 

I mean, is there a chemical bond between the skin of one person and another person when they touch?

[Sensei]

29 minutes ago, Strange said:

Only metaphorically. 

Hydrogen bonds are existing even in plain water (which is in skin)..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_bond

 

"This type of bond can occur in inorganic molecules such as water and in organic molecules like DNA and proteins. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding is responsible for the high boiling point of water (100 °C) compared to the other group 16 hydrides that have much weaker hydrogen bonds.[3] Intramolecular hydrogen bonding is partly responsible for the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins and nucleic acids. It also plays an important role in the structure of polymers, both synthetic and natural."

[Strange]

1 hour ago, Artemon said:

I mean, is there a chemical bond between the skin of one person and another person when they touch?

Well, I suppose that when any two surfaces touch, there will be transient, weak bonds like those mentioned by Sensei. And, famously, "every contact leaves a trace" (*), which means there must be bonds made with the exchanged material. 

(*) Locard's exchange principle: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/investigations/forensics/#the-principle-of-exchange

[swansont]

You leave fingerprints on things, for example, so there is some sort of intermolecular interaction going on, but that's probably adhesion, which would not be considered a chemical bond — you generally aren't forming a new compound from the components.

[studiot]

1 hour ago, swansont said:

You leave fingerprints on things, for example, so there is some sort of intermolecular interaction going on, but that's probably adhesion, which would not be considered a chemical bond — you generally aren't forming a new compound from the components.

 

You don't have to form a new compound to form a chemical bond, you may just be extending an existing lattice.

 

In answer to the original question,

Think of the agents that 'assist' the formation of a chemical bond by contact processes.

1. Time,
2. Temperature (heat) ,
3. Pressure,
4. Biological,
5. Electrical.

'Touching' is usually considered momentary contact, so that rules out 1 and 4.

2 and 3 require greater intensity than would be a normal touch without damage.

Whilst surface chemicals on the skin may carry a charge, I don't think skin itself is charged and the direct application of electricity is not recommended.

 

Van der Waals bonds and similar are transitory not permanent as regular chemical bonds, though I can see they might last long enough to cause bonding to say dry (or even ordinary) ice, stripping some skin if the block is pulled away.
It is often posited the such bonds are weak but that is not necessarily so.

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by studiot

[BabcockHall]

DNA can be transferred, and this can be forensically useful.