Chemistry: suspension vs dispersion

Tutoring chemistry, definitions and the ideas behind them are important. The tutor compares suspension with dispersion.

Suspensions and dispersions are both mixtures in which one phase contains and separates a less numerous one. One difference between them is that with a suspension, the mixture will settle out if left undisturbed: an example is agitated pond water that has picked up silt from the bottom but will clear if left still.

With a dispersion, the separated phase will remain scattered throughout the containing one. Milk is an example: the milk fat is dispersed in water.

A suspension can be filtered in order to separate the containing phase from the scattered one, but a dispersion can’t be separated that way.

Source:

chem.libretexts.org