Liquid
gas
A "colloidal system" can be defined as one of these states finely dispersed in another. These colloids have special properties that are of great practical importance. There are various examples of colloidal systems that can be considered. The following table shows the classification of colloids and contains examples of each type.Continuous phaseGasLiquidSolidDispersed phaseGasNoneFoam (shaving cream)Solid foam (polystyrene cup)LiquidLiquid aerosol (fog, mist)Emulsion (mayonnaise, milk)Gel (Gelatin)SolidSolid aerosol (dust, smoke)Sol (paint, mud)Solid sol (Stained glass)Colloid systems usually have dimensions of less than 1 micron, which results in a very high surface-to-volume ratio. Therefore, surface chemistry plays a very important part in the study of colloidal systems.
A colloid is a mixture of solid particles suspended in a liquid.