Hydration

(chemistry) The incorporation of molecular water into a complex molecule with the molecules or units of another species; the complex may be held together by relatively weak forces or may exist as a definite compound.

The incorporation of molecular water into a complex with the molecules or units of another species. The complex may be held together by relatively weak forces or may exist as a definite compound. Many salts form solid hydrates when exposed to water vapor under certain conditions of temperature and pressure. Water is lost from these compounds when they are heated or when the water vapor pressure falls below a minimum value. Solids forming hydrates at low pressures are used as drying agents. See also Deliquescence; Desiccant; Efflorescence; Hydrate; Solution; Solvation.

The incorporation of water by minerals. Hydration often causes swelling and is believed to be a major cause of the crumbling of coarse-grained igneous rocks which are disrupted by the expansion of their hydrated minerals. Compare with hydrolysis.

1. The formation of a compound by combining water with some other substance.
2. In concrete, the chemical reaction between cement and water.
3. The chemical reaction by which a substance (such as portland cement or plaster) combines with water, giving off heat to form a crystalline structure in its setting and hardening.

The absorption of or combination with water.

• h. status — the status of the fluid–electrolyte balance in a patient.

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Hydration may refer to:

• Hydration reaction, a chemical addition reaction where a hydroxyl group and proton are added to a compound
• Mineral hydration, an inorganic chemical reaction where water is added to the crystal structure of a mineral
• Solvation, the clustering of solvent (water) molecules around a solute particle

See also

• Dehydration
• Hydrate
• Rehydration
• Drinking water

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