Dispersed media

A dispersed medium consitst of two media which do not mix. More specifically, it contains discrete elements of one medium which are dispersed in a continuous second medium. The two media can be of very different nature. In particular, they can be a gas, a liquid or a solid.

Many materials which we encounter during the day are dispersed media. For example, milk consists of oil drops dispersed in water, fog contains tiny water drops dispersed in air, shaving cream contains bubbles dispersed in water, sand consists of solid grains in air and a kitchen sponge of bubbles dispersed in a solid.

Dispersed media are commonly classified according to the nature of the two phases and the volume fraction of the dispersed phase. The following table provides an overview of the main types of dispersed media.

Missing: Jamming transition Missing: Comments on size and polydispersity