colloid
/ˈkɒl.ɔɪd/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈkɑː.lɔɪd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈkä-ˌlȯid/ (ame, mw)
colloid — noun
- colloidsingular
- colloidsplural
1. a substance made up of very small bits of one material that stay floating evenly
a substance made up of very small bits of one material that stay floating evenly throughout another material, without dissolving or settling out
Milk is a familiar colloid, since tiny drops of fat float evenly through the water inside it.
definitional example: X is a colloid
In her lab notebook, Jisoo described fog as a colloid of water droplets in air.
collocation: a colloid of [X] in [Y]
Professor Emre showed the class how stirring soap into water can form a colloid that looks cloudy.
Many paints are colloids, with bits of colour kept evenly mixed inside an oily liquid.
Unlike a true solution, a colloid will scatter a beam of light passing through it.
- suspension
broader term; in a suspension particles eventually settle, while a colloid stays evenly mixed
- emulsion
a specific type of colloid where both materials are liquids, such as milk or mayonnaise
- dispersion
general scientific term for one substance spread through another, of which a colloid is one kind
- solution
in a solution the substance fully dissolves; in a colloid the bits stay separate
文法句型
a colloid of [substance] in [substance]
用法筆記
Subject is usually a specific substance (milk, fog, paint, blood). Common in chemistry and biology textbooks; rarely used in everyday speech.