Abstract
To avoid the confusion of the concept of a gel frequently encountered in daily markets of food, cosmetics, and other industrial products, the definition of a gel is revisited. Recent proposals of the definition of a gel are overviewed, and classifications of various gels from different points of view are described. Discussion is mainly focused on the gel-sol transition and the difference between the structured liquid and the gel, and the classification of gels by temperature dependence of elastic modulus. Finally, the definition of a gel is proposed as a working hypothesis from rheological and structural view points.
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The author thanks Prof.F.Tanaka for his precious advice.
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Nishinari, K. (2009). Some Thoughts on The Definition of a Gel. In: Tokita, M., Nishinari, K. (eds) Gels: Structures, Properties, and Functions. Progress in Colloid and Polymer Science, vol 136. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00865-8_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00865-8_12
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