Fick's laws of diffusion
Leyes de Fick de la difusión
- Date
- 1855 · confidence high
- Place
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Credited to
- Adolf Fick
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Physiologist Adolf Fick formulated two laws describing diffusion: particle flux goes from regions of higher to lower concentration, proportional to the gradient, and a partial differential equation that predicts how concentration changes over time.
Formulated by analogy with Fourier's law of heat conduction and Ohm's law of electricity, both from the same period.
What it led to
- Foundation of diffusion in physics, chemistry and biology
- Design of membranes and separation processes
- Transport models in semiconductors and pharmacology