| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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4. Science Terms: Distinctions, Restrictions, and Confusions
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| § 2. absorption / adsorption |
| Absorption indicates an active ongoing process in which something is taken up by something else by various physical actions: The absorption of spilled juice into a paper towel occurs by capillary action. Adsorption, in contrast, describes the holding or accumulation of something, such as a gas, a liquid, or a solute (a substance that has been dissolved in another substance), on the surface of a solid or liquid: The removal of dissolved gases from tap water is achieved by their adsorption onto a substance such as activated charcoal. | 1 |
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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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