diffusion

UK/dɪˈfjuː.ʒən/US/dɪˈfju.ʒən/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,643 of 15,258mostly written

Diffusion is the spreading of something out through a space. The diffusion of a scent.

In physics it happens without any stirring, since molecules move about on their own. In history diffusion means an idea or a technique spreading from where it began.

Definitions of diffusion

1noundiffusionThe spreading of something out through a space.C1
“The diffusion of the smell through the whole house took ten minutes.”

diffusion is a spreading.

Where it comes from

Latin diffusio comes from diffundere, to pour out, from dis plus fundere, to pour.

Latin
diffūsiō
English, today
diffusion

Borrowed from Latin diffūsiō, from diffundō; can be decomposed as diffuse + ion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

diffusion in the wild

The result of diffusion is a gradual mixing of material such that the distribution of molecules is uniform.
Molecular diffusion
Since the molecules are still in motion, but an equilibrium has been established, the result of molecular diffusion is called a "dynamic equilibrium".
Molecular diffusion
Fick's laws of diffusion describe diffusion and were first posited by Adolf Fick in 1855 on the basis of largely experimental results.
Fick's laws of diffusion
Fick's first law can be used to derive his second law, which in turn is identical to the diffusion equation.
Fick's laws of diffusion
Facilitated diffusion differs from simple diffusion in several ways: The transport relies on molecular binding between the cargo and the membrane-embedded channel or carrier protein.
Facilitated diffusion

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

diffuse

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