In
physical and
organic chemistry, the
dispersity is a measure of the heterogeneity of sizes of molecules or particles in a mixture. A collection of objects is called
uniform if the objects have the same size, shape, or mass. A sample of objects that have an inconsistent size, shape and mass distribution is called
non-uniform. The objects can be in any form of
chemical dispersion, such as particles in a
colloid, droplets in a cloud, crystals in a rock, or polymer molecules in a solvent. Polymers can possess a distribution of
molecular mass; particles often possess a wide distribution of size, surface area and mass; and thin films can possess a varied distribution of film thickness.
