The diffusion of solids involves particles moving and spreading via collision. Solid molecules bump into and bounce off one another as they move through space, which spreads the molecules throughout another solid.
CHALKBOARD MOLECULES
Diffusion of a solid is typically when one type of molecule settles into another over time, such as marker left on a whiteboard or mold in a refrigerator. Take Ms. Margaret, for an example.
FRIDGE MOLECULES
MOLD MOLECULES
CHALKBOARD MOLECULES
Ms. Margaret wrote a goodbye message to her students on the blackboard on the last day of school last year. She forgot to erase it before she went home, so when she returned after the summer, the chalk was very hard to remove from the blackboard.
Have a good summer, students!
Because Ms. Margaret didn’t erase the chalk from the blackboard, it had time to sit undisturbed for almost three months. This gave the chalk molecules time to diffuse into molecules of the blackboard.
CHALK MOLECULES
Solids have a high rigidity and low fluidity, which means their particles do not move as easily as a gas or liquid’s particles. Therefore, solids take a very long time to diffuse. If Ms. Margaret had left the chalk on the board for only a few days, it would have erased much easier.