The chemistry of colloids

Thickly whisked egg

Source: iStock

Avogadro’s lab: Paul Hogg whips up some edible colloids

Milk, mayonnaise, paint, ointments, dust, blood, fog and handcreams. We come across colloids every day, but what are they? Basically, a colloid is made up of two or more components that form a stable mixture – one component acts as a continuous medium in which the other one is dispersed. This mixture also has different properties from its individual components.

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