Phase separation is the creation of two distinct
phases from a single
homogeneous mixture
In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different chemical substances which are not chemically bonded. A mixture is the physical combination of two or more substances in which the identities are retained and are mixed in the ...
. The most common type of phase separation is between two
immiscible liquids, such as oil and water.
Colloids are formed by phase separation, though not all phase separations forms colloids - for example oil and water can form separated layers under gravity rather than remaining as microscopic droplets in suspension.
Phase separation in cold gases
A mixture of two
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
isotopes (
helium-3 and
helium-4) in a certain range of temperatures and concentrations separates into parts. The initial mix of the two isotopes spontaneously separates into
^He-rich and
^3He-rich regions. Phase separation also exists in
ultracold gas systems. It has been shown experimentally in a two-component
ultracold Fermi gas case. The phase separation can compete with other phenomena as
vortex lattice formation or an exotic
Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase.
See also
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Biomolecular condensate
In biochemistry, biomolecular condensates are a class of lipid bilayer, membrane-less organelles and organelle subdomains, which carry out specialized functions within the cell (biology), cell. Unlike many organelles, biomolecular condensate com ...
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Colloid
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Phase diagram
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Spinodal decomposition
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Cahn–Hilliard equation The Cahn–Hilliard equation (after John W. Cahn and John E. Hilliard) is an equation of mathematical physics which describes the process of phase separation, by which the two components of a binary fluid spontaneously separate and form domains pu ...
References
Further reading
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{{chemical solutions
Equilibrium chemistry
Solvents
Condensed matter physics