double diffusion
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Related to double diffusion: Ouchterlony test
double diffusion
[‚dəb·əl də′fyü·zhən] (fluid mechanics)
A type of convective transport in fluids that depends on the difference in diffusion rates of at least two density-affecting components. Also, it is necessary to have an unstable or top-heavy distribution of one component. For example, in oceanography, the two components are heat and dissolved salts, and the unstable component is the slower-diffusing salt.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.