Labs / Chemistry
Diffusion
A single drop of dye sits in the middle of a still solvent. Each particle takes tiny random steps — no one pushes them anywhere in particular — yet together they spread out to fill the whole container. Warm it up, add a second colour, and watch two clouds bleed into each other.
σ 2.0%t 0.0 sN 520
What to try
- Nobody aims the particles, so how does a sharp drop always end up as an even, uniform colour?
- Crank the temperature up and down. Does hotter solvent reach a smooth mix faster or slower — and why should heat change the spreading rate?
- Watch the σ readout climb. Early on it rises quickly, then levels off — what is happening at the walls when it stops growing?
- Add a drop of the second colour. Do the two dyes ever "un-mix" and separate again on their own?
- Turn on the concentration map. Where is the dye most crowded, and how does the gradient from dense to empty change as time passes?