Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The accumulation of gases, liquids, or solutes on the surface of a solid or liquid.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The mechanical imbibition of fluids or gases.
  • noun Condensation of gases on the surfaces of solids.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun the process by which molecules of a substance form a thin film on the surface of a solid. Distinguished from absorption, in which the foreign substance penetrates the body of the absorbing material.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The adhesion of a liquid or gas on the surface of a solid material, forming a thin film on the surface. Not to be confused with the process of absorption.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the accumulation of molecules of a gas to form a thin film on the surface of a solid

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From adsorb.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

adsorb +‎ -ion

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Examples

  • Mass attraction and electrostatic force - a combination of these two forces is frequently called adsorption, enable the particles to keep in contact with other solids and the filter material.

    8. Classification of roughing filters 1996

  • Analysis by adsorption is founded on the phenomenon which also serves as a basis for the design of contemporary gas-masks.

    Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1948 - Presentation Speech 1964

  • "adsorption" which results from the molecular attraction of substances to the surface of the media.

    xml's Blinklist.com 2008

  • ALSO … many large facilities use adsorption air conditioners already (and duh the array can be used for heating as well), they could be taking the coolant from the concentrated PV array and using it to provide MOST of the input energy for their HVAC systems.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » The Cost of Solar 2009

  • Tiselius also refined adsorption analysis, a method first used by the Russian botanist, Michail

    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The Development of Modern Chemistry 2010

  • Detailed studies of adsorption on surfaces, were carried out by Irving Langmuir at the research laboratory of General Electric Company, and when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1932, he was the first industrial scientist to receive this distinction.

    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The Development of Modern Chemistry 2010

  • Beyond adsorption there is abrasion, rubbing the surface of the material off, taking the layer of dirt with it.

    Archive 2008-06-01 2008

  • White plastic and gum erasers work with adsorption, when rubbed over the paper surface, the graphite bonds with the eraser surface.

    Archive 2008-06-01 2008

  • Pete, could you help Eli by detailing a bit more what you want to know about adsorption, in particular what systems you are thinking about?

    Too bad to be believed EliRabett 2010

  • Rubber erasers work both with adsorption and with some amount of abrasion.

    Archive 2008-06-01 2008

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