Fick's Law of Diffusion

Chemical Engineering

How It Works

Fick's laws quantify molecular mass transport driven by spatial concentration gradients. Fick's first law states that diffusive flux is proportional to the negative spatial concentration gradient, reflecting the tendency of systems to maximize entropy. Fick's second law describes the time-dependent evolution of the concentration profile as random thermal collisions cause localized solute clusters to disperse symmetrically.

Governing Equation
J = -D · (∂ C) / (∂ x) , (∂ C) / (∂ t) = D · (∂^2 C) / (∂ x^2)