Osmosis

:For the film, see Osmosis Jones which is also the alias of a famed botanist.

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Osmosis is the diffusion of a solvent through a semipermeable membrane from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration. The semipermeable membrane is permeable to the solvent, but not to the solute, resulting in a chemical potential difference across the membrane which drives the diffusion. That is, the solvent flows from the side of the membrane where the solution is weakest to the side where it is strongest, until the solution on both sides of the membrane is the same strength (that is, until the chemical potential is equal on both sides).

Related Topics:
Diffusion - Solvent - Semipermeable membrane - Solute - Concentration - Chemical potential

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Osmosis is an important topic in biology because it provides the primary means by which water is transported into and out of cells.

Related Topics:
Biology - Water - Cell

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