Dispersion

The term dispersion describes a mixture of two or more substances that do not form a chemical compound and are not soluble in one another. All substances can be in one of the 3 basic states of matter solid, liquid, and gaseous. The states of matter are also termed phases. Thus, one speaks of e.g. a 2-phase dispersion or a 2-phase system. The substance/phase in which the other substances/phases distribute is the dispersion medium (continuous phase, external phase). The distributing substance/phase is the dispersed phase (discontinuous phase, internal phase). The possible combinations of the 3 states of matter of the dispersion medium and the dispersed phase result in 8 types of dispersion (except gaseous-in-gaseous = gas mixture - no dispersion). The most important types of dispersion in the field of construction are emulsions (liquid-in-liquid), suspensions (solid-in-liquid), foams (gaseous-in-liquid), and aerosols (liquid-in-gaseous.)