Graham, Thomas

Name:
Graham, Thomas
Detailed information:
(1805–1869). Born in Scotland, Graham is famous for his basic studies in diffusion that led to the development of colloid chemistry. He was the first to observe a marked difference in the rate of passage of certain types of substances through a parchment membrane. Those that readily crystallize, like sugar, pass rapidly through the membrane, but gelatinous types are “slow in the extreme.” Graham designated the latter, which comprise albumin, starch, gums, etc., as colloids and their solutions as colloidal solutions. The former, which he called crystalloids, form “true” or molecularly dispersed solutions.See Colloid Chemistry.