Difference in salinity and/or sugar content: Does it have a name? [closed]








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Let's say that I put a tea infuser full of high-salt and/or high-sugar content, into a tea pot full of fresh water. I know that the salt and/or sugar will move from the infuser to the tea pot until their salt/sugar levels equalize.


Does the force, the pressure, which moves the water, have a name?


I thought about osmotic pressure, but I think that's just for salt? The system is also trending towards homeostasis, but that's a state, not a force. So, I'm not sure what to call this.




It is not osmosis, which applies when water can pass through a barrier, but dissolved compounds cannot.


It is [diffusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion) of dissolved compounds driven by concentration difference and [convection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convection) driven by liquid density difference. Usually the latter effect does the most of the transport taking a lot of the compound along a long distance.


If the concentration of the dissolved compound changes in some direction, the rates of migration of dissolved compounds between two places is not equal. The net effect causes equalization of the concentration. For more see [Fick's laws of diffusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fick%27s_laws_of_diffusion).


Dissolving of salt or sugar forms solution that is denser than water, convecting down, being replaced by water or more diluted solution.


A lot of useful info, presented in form suitable for education, can be found on sites [Libretexts.org](https://libretexts.org) and [Hyperphysics](http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/index.html).


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