gelation
gelation — noun
1. the chemical or physical process in which a liquid mixture of tiny particles (ca
the chemical or physical process in which a liquid mixture of tiny particles (called a sol) changes into a soft, jelly-like material (called a gel)
The gelation of the dessert began moments after Yuki stirred in the gelatin powder.
everyday example: gelation of dessert with gelatin
Fatima watched the clear sol turn into a thick gel during gelation.
sol → gel transition observed in laboratory setting
Dr. Chen watched the temperature gauge closely during gelation of the contact lens material.
Roya mixed fruit juice with sugar and pectin, then watched gelation turn the liquid into thick jam.
The gelation point is when the liquid mixture suddenly becomes semi-solid and stops flowing.
- gelling
a less formal synonym; gelation is the standard technical noun
- gelification
a rarer technical synonym, mostly used in chemistry
- solidification
broader term — gelation produces a semi-solid, not a fully hard solid
- liquefaction
the process of turning a gel back into a liquid
- melting
the change from gel to liquid by heating
用法筆記
The primary modern sense of gelation. Widely used in chemistry, food science, cosmetics manufacturing, and materials engineering. The verb form is gel (or sometimes gelate). The opposite process — turning a gel back into a sol — is called liquefaction or melting.
常見錯誤
2. the process by which a liquid becomes solid as a result of extreme cold
the process by which a liquid becomes solid as a result of extreme cold
The gelation of the pond happened overnight when the temperature fell to minus twelve degrees.
collocation: gelation of [water body] for freezing
Farmers checked whether gelation had occurred in their water pipes after three days of below-zero weather.
collocation: gelation of water pipes after freezing
The gelation temperature of the coolant was measured at minus forty degrees in the cryogenics lab.
The freezer manual warned that gelation of the compressor oil at sub-zero temperatures could damage the unit.
- freezing
the everyday word for liquid becoming solid from cold; gelation is far rarer
- solidification
broader term covering any liquid-to-solid change, not just from cold
- congelation
a now-rare formal synonym for freezing, similar in register to gelation
用法筆記
Rare in modern English for the freezing meaning; most speakers use freezing or solidification instead. You will most often find gelation in older scientific writing or in formal descriptions of cryogenic processes.