Solvent

Solvent is the collective name for all liquids that dissolve other materials. Water is the most well-known solvent, but parallel to it a large number of other organic compounds exist, such as alcohols, hydrocarbons, gasoline, etc. Solvents are used, amongst many other applications, to degrease and clean surface or to dissolve flux activators found in water- and alcohol based fluxes used during the soldering process.