jel]
noun, verb, gelled, gel⋅ling.| 1. | Physical Chemistry. a semirigid colloidal dispersion of a solid with a liquid or gas, as jelly, glue, etc. |
| 2. | Theater. gelatin (def. 5). |
| 3. | Biochemistry. a semirigid polymer, as agarose, starch, cellulose acetate, or polyacrylamide, cast into slabs or cylinders for the electrophoretic separation of proteins and nucleic acids. |
gel (jěl) n.
v. intr. To become a gel. v. tr. To apply a gel to (the hair). [Short for gelatin.] gel'a·ble adj. |
gel
[dʒɛl]
|
gel (jěl)
n.
A colloid in which the disperse phase combines with the dispersion medium to produce a semisolid material. v. gelled, gel·ling, gels
To become a gel.
To convert a sol into a gel.
| gel gelatin |
| GEL Georgiaâlari (currency) |
gel
coherent mass consisting of a liquid in which particles too small to be seen in an ordinary optical microscope are either dispersed or arranged in a fine network throughout the mass. A gel may be notably elastic and jellylike (as gelatin or fruit jelly), or quite solid and rigid (as silica gel, a material that looks like coarse white sand and is used as a dehumidifier). Gels are colloids (aggregates of fine particles, as described above, dispersed in a continuous medium) in which the liquid medium has become viscous enough to behave more or less as a solid. Contraction of a gel, causing separation of liquid from it, is called syneresis. Compare sol
Learn more about gel with a free trial on Britannica.com.