Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 20, 2014
Gravitational stability of suspensions of attractive colloidal particles
Chanjoong Kim1, Yaqian Liu, Angelika Kühnle
1Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Abstract:
Colloidal suspensions are susceptible to gravitationally induced phase separation. This can be mitigated by the formation of a particle network caused by depletion attraction. The effectiveness of this network in supporting the buoyant weight of the suspension can be characterized by its compressional modulus. We measure the compressional modulus for emulsion networks induced by depletion attraction and present a model that quantitatively predicts their gravitational stability. We also determine the relationship between the strength of the depletion attraction and the magnitude of the compressional modulus.
Related Concept Videos
The Colloidal State
Colloidal precipitates
Colloids
Colloids and Suspensions
Stability of Equilibrium Configuration: Problem Solving
Problem-solving in the context of the stability of equilibrium configuration...
First Law: Particles in Two-dimensional Equilibrium
Newton's first law tells us about the...

