Autodiffusion

/ˌɔːtoʊdɪˈfjuːʒən/ noun

Definition

In physics and chemistry, the spontaneous movement or mixing of identical particles or substances due to random molecular motion, even without a concentration gradient.

Etymology

Combines auto- (self) + diffusion (spreading out). A technical term from 20th-century physics literature describing a specific molecular phenomenon.

Kelly Says

Autodiffusion is so subtle that it's easy to overlook, yet it explains why even perfectly uniform liquids gradually mix at the molecular level—it's entropy at work, the universe's preference for disorder quietly happening in every glass of water.

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