Talk:Mixture

Note: Go to Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science if you have questions, and also, do your own homework before going there.

Is a salt solution a "mixture"?

The first line in the definition of mixture reads: "In chemistry, a mixture is the product of a mechanical blending or mixing of chemical substances like elements and compounds, without chemical bonding or other chemical change, so that each ingredient substance retains its own chemical properties and makeup."

In what way does dissociation of NaCl in an aqueous solution meet this criterion? What am I missing here? Solvation of sugar is quite a different case. TreeDoctor 04:14, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

What is mixture 49.149.106.56 (talk) 01:23, 1 September 2023 (UTC)

yes, i also have the same doubt.our chemistry teacher told us about the disassociation of Na and Cl ions.this seems kind of chemical.then how can brine be a mixture?i'd appreciate an answer.Silver4 16:00, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Pure substances, mixtures and solutions are all diffent. A salt solution is not a mxture, however a salution can be mixed with other chemicals just like any pure sustance.

A solution is the hydrated state of a compound (not to be confused with an xHydrate). In a solution,each molocule is incased in a shell of water molocules. A mixture is when multiple compounds are comingled in one area. Russellsaccount (talk) 03:04, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

This question has been bothering me for a long time already. I have looked for a answer on many books and websites, in English, French (mélange vs solution) and Portuguese (mistura vs solução). Even authoritative references don't agree on their definitions. Some are even self-contradictory. The most coherent and useful definitions I have seen are: - a mixture is a material system made up of two or more different chemical substances. - a solution is an homogeneous mixture. These are in accordance with the IUPAC Gold Book: http://goldbook.iupac.org/M03949.html and http://goldbook.iupac.org/S05746.html. Note that they make no assumptions or restrictions about chemical bonding, and brine would be a mixture (since every solution would be a mixture). 177.40.151.69 (talk) 04:22, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Thank's🙏 Zimlubeko (talk) 13:46, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Other mixture related things

There is also the subtopic of suspension, physical reactions (e.g. heat, density, viscosity), or chemnical reactions (e.g. baking soda+vinegar) (and anything else?). In my science textbook there are way more topics about mixtures then listed her in wikipedia. If you are willing to help make this article less "stubby" please contribute because I have a test coming up about this.

-Storkian

A mixture of mixtures?

Hey sorry for bothering you but could someone please tell me what uniform mixtures and nonuniform mixtures are?? Thank you!!

Hi, sorry to bother you, but my Chemistry instructor wants to know:

Can you have a mixture made up of mixtures?

Thanks, I'd really appreciate an answer.^_^

uhh...yeah, of course. it'd still be a mixture thought. This kind of thing is best asked at our science reference desk/. Talk pages are more for discussion things to do with the article. --`/aksha 11:16, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

i need another example of a mixture plus i still dont understand — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.188.103.119 (talk) 12:06, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

Sorry, but I really want to know;You know when you mix cornstarch with a bit of water? You get this really cool half solid and half liquid stuff? I would really like to know why it happens and how it works. Someone please help me!Oh, and I would like to say something:my little brother says that Wikipedia is pretty hard for him to unerstand. What can I do to improve on the page?

Talk pages are not forums.... Cailunet (talk) 01:00, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

Combining Types Of Steel And Diamonds.

Sorry to bother all readers, (in case i'm doing that) but have any of you considered combining steel and diamonds together? For example: Titanium, Carbon steel, and diamonds, Combine them and what do you get: a new type of unbreakable steel! what would any of you name it? Personally I would name it "Meganite". My teacher said "Diamonite", but If Any of you have a better name Just say one and what it means.

-Sunburn (thats my gamertag on my XBOX360 I can't give away my real name)

The closest one could get is to suspend diamond fragments in steel, a common practice. Otherwise, the highly stable structure which gives diamonds their strength would be lost. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.69.118.1 (talk) 21:24, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

Contradictions

• In this article, colloids are said to never settle. But in the same breath, suspensions are said to be colloids. I'm not an expert, but isn't it more accurate to say that suspensions aren't colloids, but merely heterogeneous?

• The introduction equates homogeneous mixtures with solutions, in defiance of the rest of the article.

• This article says colloids are "both" homogeneous and heterogeneous. Now, they may exhibit characteristics of both types, but that doesn't matter. Homogeneity and heterogeneity, as defined here, seem mutually exclusive. The Colloid article seems to make it clear that colloids are heterogeneous.

• If you ask me, throughout this article, and its daughters, we ought to dissolve the separation of colloid and heterogeneous mixture. In many cases there are said to be three types of mixtures, and I think this is misleading.

• This article distinguishes "some alloys" from solutions, but AFAIK, all alloys are either solutions or compounds. The Alloy article takes this definition. Due to this change, another example of a homogeneous mixture that is not a solution will be needed.

I don't want to edit any of these myself, because I don't know enough to be sure.

67.171.43.170 23:50, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree; these problems are all valid complaints that I believe stem from a lack of a set of formal definitions. I will try to rework some of this article in the near future... feel free to contact my talk page with suggestions. Nimur 19:49, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

As a Physical chemist let me help clear up some misconceptions. Solution - A homogeneous mixture in which all particles are on the size of atoms, small molecules or small ions, Colloidal Dispersion (Colloid) - A homogeneous mixture in which the particles of one or more components have at least one dimension in the range of 1 to 1000nm, larger than those in a solution but smaller than those in a suspension, Suspension - A homogeneous mixture in which the particles of at least one component are larger than colloidal particles, greater than 1000nm in at least one dimension. I would recommend any wikipedians to purchase the Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry for further reading or purchase any general chemistry textbooks for further reference. I do not have the inclination to start editing these articles, but this information might help one of the topics that are in confusion for editors. Chemistry nomenclature and terminology is determined by IUPAC, they have further free resources which might be beneficial to anyone looking to provide accurate definitions. Chemist1828 00:52, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your insights. The confusion stems from the apparent arbitrary line at "the size of atoms or small molecules" - how many molecules? 1? 5? 0.0001mol? Is milk homogeneous, even though it contains large compounds? Is a mixture of yeast and water a homogeneous one? How about ocean water? There seems to be some degree of subjectivity in these examples. I appreciate your quantitative definitions for colloids and suspensions (which have no subjectivity at all); if I can find citations, I will add them to the article. Please feel free to edit if you find any errors... Nimur 13:30, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

A solution has to have all components smaller than 1nm in all dimensions, which is the order of atoms, small molecules and small ions. Any increase in particle size causes the homogeneous mixture to have different characteristics and be classified as either a colloid or suspension. Solutions do not have particles of a larger enough size to cause light scattering as per the Tyndall Effect observed in colloidal dispersions. Besides particle size, suspensions differ from colloidal dispersion in that they are not stable and the different components eventually separate, in the case of liquid suspensions, the components will settle in different layers based on their individual densities. As per your question concerning moles, it does not matter how many total moles of solution there are, the macroscopic properties of the system will not be affected. If two species have similar enough intermolecular forces they are miscible (mixable in all proportions). Only so much of a solute will solvate in the solvent before precipitation begins, but at that point the solution will be saturated. As far as references, I can point you to two that should be helpful, either for research and education or for citing purposes.

1.) Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0198609183

2.) Chemistry: Matter and Its Changes, Fourth Edition, Brady & Senese, Wiley Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0471215171

By observing a liquid system, one can look for the behavior of the system to classify it correctly. Milk is a colloidal dispersion called a sol, colloidal dispersions are classified according to their dispersed and continuous phases. Look at your system, without knowing which species it is composed off, is it transparent? If not, do the particles eventually settle? All Homogeneous Mixtures (Solutions, Colloidal Dispersions, Suspensions) and Heterogeneous Mixtures can be physically separated into elements and compounds. Elements and compounds are only interchangeable by chemical means however, and have much more varying classifications, organic, inorganic, based on ordered crystalline structure or amorphous, based on macroscopic function, etc.

Another example: sea water, look at the components, seawater is a solution, the different species it is composed of are listed in the seawater article in Wikipedia. If in doubt as to a certain substance, do include that substance in an example. Chemist1828 00:52, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

I decided to create an account and do what I can to help some of these articles along, I will be making changes first to this article and then we might decide how to proceed along toward the next topic. Chemist1828 00:52, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Why does chemistry get to own this word?

Sorry for top-posting, but please justify... I accept that heterogeneous mixture and homogeneous mixture are widely used chemical terms, but even if the terms are most common in the sciences, i'm not really sure I like the word mixture coming to here. -- Redikufuk 18:16, 24 January 2007 (UTC) (please don't reply to my page, I never read it).

Moved top-post to chronological order...

If for no other reason, the scientific definition yields a more precise terminology and is generally applicable to any other usage of the term. There is also a Mixture (disambiguation) page; I think the present arrangement is appropriate. Nimur 19:32, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

phases

This term needs to be defined in the article. All that is presently said is that it is not to be mistaken with another usage of the word but no explanation of the meaning employed here is given. Morgan Leigh 00:03, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Proposed merge of Suspension into article

If there are no objections I'm proposing to merge the Suspension article into this one and hopefully add more material into the section for it. Chemist1828 23:27, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

No objection from this non-expert - but make sure it is Suspension (chemistry). There are quite few links into the suspension article that would have to be "corrected." Between 100 and 250. Is there a possiblity of explanding the Suspension article? It seems to be a popular link. (John User:Jwy talk) 00:36, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

More contradiction

This time, it's specifically the 'suspension' part. I have always learned that things such as sand in water is a heterogeneous mixture as opposed to a homogeneous mixture. More importantly, the Suspension (chemistry) article states that a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture while here it says homogenous. The main problem is that they are in direct conflict. Of course I will not personally edit the article to fix this until we have a consensus.

--NovaDog 01:23, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

proposal of corrections

Yes, I agree with the above author that, according to further and other researches on the web, suspensions and colloids are both heterogeneous, and so I edited that part. However, it is not the first time that Wikipedia has made a mistake, and I do personally find it upsetting. It would be good if someone can be an editor and check modifications as to make sure they are correct. Another example is that earlier this morning, a page intended to be scientific was modified to include dirty words, not in !@#$% format, either. Even as a high school teenager, I find it unacceptable. Though I believe it should be fixed by now. --JanceyN 21:57, 21 September 2007

We need

an expert on this topic. Seriously. — NovaDog — (contribs) 21:27, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Seriously, this thing is a piece of chaotic mess. Should homogeneous (solutions) be listed here, in mixtures? What is the difference between a dispersion and a heterogeneous mixture? And also, this article is mainly built by IPs. Is anyone else watching this page? — NovaDog — (contribs) 00:57, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

I agree. This article is, to quote above, "a chaotic mess." Perhaps it should be rewritten completely? It has many self-contradictions, and is not at all clear on the topic. Astrangequark 01:06, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Reverting the last six months' changes dramatically improved the quality of the article. For some reason, removal of entire sections seems to go unnoticed – Gurch 15:06, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

As I said, no one watches this page. lol at reverting the last 6 months changes, but in my honest opinion, it is the best that we could have done to clean up this mess with IPs all over this page and without an expert. — NovaDog — (contribs) 01:24, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Mistake

"While there are no physical changes in a mixture, the chemical properties of a mixture, such as its melting point, may differ from those of its components."

Melting point is a quantitative physical property. It is not a chemical property.

76.71.14.187 (talk) 21:06, 15 December 2008 (UTC)Diah McJoncon

i need help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.79.178.242 (talk) 15:33, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Solution, Colloid, Suspension, and Alloy?

Isn't alloy a solution? Bon_062 8 August 2010

what is heterogeneous — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.147.179.25 (talk) 11:08, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

dimonds

it is a mineral that is shiny, and pretty. there are cheap you can get one at the dollar store. diamonds come in pink, blue, green, yellow, red,and rainbow. they also glow in the dark. get your diamond today for only one dollar. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.97.182.222 (talk) 18:21, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

Merge proposal

There's a 2019 proposal to merge Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures here; sounds like a good idea, as that is essential what the Mixture#Physics and chemistry section is; so, merge because of duplication of scope. Klbrain (talk) 22:00, 16 July 2020 (UTC)

  Y Merger complete. Klbrain (talk) 17:09, 13 September 2020 (UTC)