Emulsion
Fluid system in which liquid droplets are dispersed in a liquid.
Note 1: The definition is based on the definition in ref.
Note 2: The droplets may be amorphous, liquid-crystalline, or any mixture thereof.
Note 3: The diameters of the droplets constituting the
dispersed phase usually range from approximately 10 nm to 100 μm; i.e., the droplets may exceed the usual size limits for colloidal particles.
Note 4: An emulsion is termed an oil/water emulsion if the dispersed phase is an organic material and the
continuous phase is water or an aqueous solution and is termed water/oil if the dispersed phase is water or an aqueous solution and the continuous phase is an organic liquid.
Note 5: A w/o emulsion is sometimes called an inverse emulsion. The term "inverse emulsion" is misleading, suggesting incorrectly that the emulsion has properties that are the opposite of those of an emulsion. Its use is, therefore, not recommended. An
emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids.