An emulsion is mixture in which one liquid is dispersed in tiny droplets more or less evenly through another liquid. The most common are oil/water emulsions: butter, mayonnaise, salad dressing, hair-styling gel. One of the liquids, the dispersed phase, is distributed throughout the other, the continuous phase. In the case of salad dressing, vinegar is the dispersed phase, and oil is the continuous phase.
We all know oil and water don’t mix happily, so there are two requirements to form a stable emulsion. The first is an emulsifier (or emulgent). This is a substance with a molecular structure that enables it to bind on one end to the water, and on the other end to the oil. It stabilizes the emulsion. The second requirement is energy – something must break up the dispersed-phase liquid into droplets and mix it into the continuous phase liquid. The more energy applied, the tinier the droplets; the tinier the droplets, the more stable (typically) the emulsion.
What fascinates me about emulsions is that, when they’re really stable, they seem like a totally new substance (the oil-based and water-based elements of hair gel applied separately would not produce a pleasant result), yet both the continuous and dispersed phase liquids retain their original chemical structure when an emulsion is formed. There is no chemical reaction between the two. The emulgent retains its chemical structure as well. It is a binding agent, but does not chemically react with either liquid.
So. Why in the hell am I telling you all this?
I think emulsions are a great analog for how ideas large and small are formed and propagated, and how we as humans grow and develop. We are the sum of all our experiences, the people we’ve loved, the books we’ve read, the jobs we’ve had, the places we’ve lived and visited. All of these experiences remain, separate and intact, in our memories, yet they also combine in this fascinating way to make us who we are. Our thoughts and self-identities are this whirl of all the stuff we’ve taken in over the years of our lives.
Living purposefully is nothing more than vigorous whisking – it is the application of energy to add richness to our thinking and our experiences. In this blog I’ll be exploring mixtures of ideas I’m working on, stuff I’m fascinated by, experiences that have grabbed me in some way.
Life is short. Whisk vigorously!
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