chromatography
1 synonym for chromatography, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A laboratory technique for separating the components of a mixture by dissolving it in a fluid and passing it through a material that each component travels through at a different speed, so they arrive separated and can be identified or measured.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
separation technique
How to use chromatography
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
gas chromatography
paper chromatography
column chromatography
chromatography paper
run a chromatography
Technical and neutral; standard in school science from about age fourteen upwards.
Etymology
From Greek khroma 'colour' and graphein 'to write', from the technique's first demonstrations separating plant pigments into visible coloured bands.
Full origin of chromatography →Frequently asked questions
How does chromatography actually work?
A mixture is carried by a moving fluid, the mobile phase, across a stationary material, the stationary phase. Components that cling more to the stationary phase move slowly and those that prefer the mobile phase move fast, so the mixture spreads out into separate bands.
What is the difference between the mobile phase and the stationary phase?
The mobile phase is the liquid or gas that flows and carries the sample along. The stationary phase is the fixed material it flows over — paper, a coated plate, or packing inside a column. Separation comes from how strongly each component is attracted to each phase.
Why is it called chromatography if it does not always involve colour?
The earliest experiments separated plant pigments into visible coloured bands, which gave the technique its name. Modern versions mostly separate colourless compounds detected by instruments, but the name stuck.
