Dispersiyon

Dispersiyon, a term used across multiple disciplines, refers to the spreading or distribution of one substance within another or within space. It can describe physical dispersions of particles, variability in data, or the way waves propagate through a medium where different frequencies behave differently.

In physics and optics, dispersion denotes the frequency dependence of a wave's phase or group velocity. Because refractive index often varies with wavelength, different colors travel at different speeds, producing effects such as chromatic dispersion in prisms or in optical fibers, where it can broaden short pulses and limit bandwidth.

In chemistry and materials science, a dispersion (or colloidal system) is a mixture where small particles or droplets are distributed in a continuous medium. Types include suspensions, emulsions, and colloids. The particle size, surface charge (zeta potential), and the medium determine stability. Techniques such as milling, sonication, or surfactants promote or stabilize dispersion; characterization methods include dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy.

In statistics, dispersion is a measure of how spread out a data set is. Common metrics include range, variance, standard deviation, and interquartile range, used to describe variability, compare data sets, or assess risk and uncertainty.

Beyond these uses, dispersion also describes the ecological or epidemiological spreading of organisms, seeds, pollutants, or genes in space and time.