Thin

Name:
Thin
Detailed information:
A nontechnical word used by scientists with a variety of meanings. (1) In electronic metallurgy, a thin film is a vapor-deposited coating having a thickness of only a single atom; such monatomic films, e.g., thorium on tungsten, are used in electronic devices such as cathodes. (2) A coating or film of a fatty acid on water that is one molecule thick (about 200 Å) is called a monomolecular film. (3) In thin-layer chromatography the term applies to a specially prepared mixture of adsorbents spread on a glass slide to a thickness of 1/100 inch. (4) The word is also used in the sense of a liquid of low viscosity, as in paint thinner and thin-boiling starch.