Dictionary of Colloid and Interface Science

 Laurier L. Schramm

Wiley-Interscience, New York, NY, 2001

Summary

Table of Contents

Summary

Colloids are small particles suspended and dispersed through a different medium, e.g., pigment particles in paint, fat droplets in milk. Colloidal and surface systems have tremendous technical importance and nearly all industrial processes involve colloidal systems and/or chemical reactions at surfaces.

This book offers a substantial revision and expansion of the first edition dictionary, published in 1989 by the same author:
 

The Language of Colloid and Interface Science
Although colloidal dispersions had been studied in the time of the alchemists, Thomas Graham is generally regarded as having founded the discipline of colloid science in the early 1800s. The adjective colloidal indicates a particular state of matter: matter for which at least one dimension falls within a specific range of distance values. The second property that distinguishes all colloidal dispersions is the extremely large area of the interface between the two phases compared with the mass of the dispersed phase. It follows that any chemical and physical phenomena that depend on the existence of an interface become very prominent in colloidal dispersions. Interface science thus underlies colloid science. Now, 200 years later, a vast lexicon is associated with the study of colloid and interface science because, in addition to the growth of the fundamental science itself, we recognize a great diversity of occurrences and properties of colloids and interfaces in industry and indeed in everyday life. Many other scientific disciplines become involved in the study and treatment of colloidal systems, each discipline bringing elements of its own special language.

This book provides brief explanations for the most important terms that may be encountered in a study of the fundamental principles, experimental investigations, and industrial applications of colloid and interface science. Many older terms that are either no longer in common use, or that now have completely new meanings, are included as an aid to the reader of the older colloid and interface science literature and as a guide to the several meanings that many terms can have. In addition, cross-references for the more important synonyms and abbreviations are included. Many of the important named colloids and phenomena (such as Pickering emulsions), equations, and constants are included.

The book also includes a selection of brief biographical introductions to more than 60 scientists whose names are associated with famous named phenomena, equations, and laws in colloid and interface science. Students first become aware of the people that have laid the foundation for a scientific discipline as they encounter these eponyms. By adopting the "students' view" of famous names in the field, it will be seen that in some cases the scientists are very famous, and biographies are readily found. In other cases, the scientists are not as well known, and in some cases their contribution to colloid and interface science was otherwise slight. For those interested in this feature specifically, there is included an index of famous names in colloid and interface science for easy searching.

Specific literature citations are given when the sources for further information are particularly useful, unique, or difficult to find.

Table of Contents

Introduction

 
Dictionary of Terms

 
Tables
Classifications for Atmospheric Aerosols of Liquid Droplets.

Types of Colloidal Dispersion.

Particle Size Classifications Extending Upwards from the Classical Colloidal Domain.

Glossary of Viscosities.

Equations for Predicting Viscosities of Dispersions.

Equations for Predicting Conductivities of Dispersions.

Equations for Predicting Relative Permittivities of Dispersions.

Equations for Predicting Suface and Interfacial Tensions.

Some Surface Techniques and Their Acronyms.

Some Approximate Values of Shear Rate Appropriate to Various Processes.

Some Descriptions Appropriate to Different Yield Stresses.

Equations for Predicting Critical Micelle Concentrations.

Index of Famous Names in Colloid and Interface Science.

Some Units and Symbols in Colloid and Interface Science.


 
References

 

 
 
 

Copyright 2000-2003 Dr. Laurier L. Schramm 
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