History
In 1923, Debye and Hückel reported the first successful theory for the distribution of charges in ionic solutions. The framework of linearized Debye-Hückel theory subsequently was applied to colloidal dispersions by Levine and Dube who found that charged colloidal particles should experience a strong medium-range repulsion and a weaker long-range attraction. This theory did not explain the observed instability of colloidal dispersions against irreversible aggregation in solutions of high ionic strength. In 1941, Derjaguin and Landau introduced a theory for the stability of colloidal dispersions that invoked a fundamental instability driven by strong but short-ranged van der Waals attractions countered by the stabilizing influence of electrostatic repulsions. Seven years later, Verwey and Overbeek independently arrived at the same result. This so-called DLVO theory resolved the failure of the Levine-Dube theory to account for the dependence of colloidal dispersions' stability on the ionic strength of the electrolyte.
Read more about this topic: DLVO Theory
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. However, the two sides are not to be divided off; as long as men exist the history of nature and the history of men are mutually conditioned.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)