Dr Robert J. Hunter, School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, NSA 2006 Australia. hunter r@chem.usyd.edu.au
What do everyday materials like milk, smoke, hairspray, ink, paint, ice cream, insulating foam and cement have in common? They are all examples of colloids. Quite simply, a colloid is a dispersion of one material (dispersed phase) in another (dispersion medium). The key parameter is the size of the objects comprising the dispersed phase. They are larger (around 1nm) than ordinary molecules, but small enough (few um) not to settle under gravity. ... This book is not light reading but is an authoritative treatise of the whole area. It is a book that will be 'dipped' into from time to time, with the reader finding a clear and complete description of the particular area. It is well written and annotated with suitable exercises in each chapter. I recommend it to research students and other scientists in the fields of colloid science, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical and food science. --Chemistry & Industry