Florent Lefortier answered
In chemistry, a filter is a porous material that is used to separate one thing from another.
How Does A Filter Work?
I’ll use coffee filters as an example, as they’re pretty much identical to the filters you use in science class – the chemistry filters are just thicker and stronger.
If you pour a mixture of ground coffee and hot water into a coffee filter, the liquid will pass through the paper, and all the solids will collect in the filter. You’ll then have the pure liquid that you want (the coffee-infused water) without all the junk that you don’t (floating bits of powdered coffee bean).
This is exactly what scientific filtering does; it separates a solid from a liquid. Some advanced filters are also used to remove impurities from a liquid.
What Other Types Of Filter Are There?
You can get some more advanced filters in different branches of science, including:
How Does A Filter Work?
I’ll use coffee filters as an example, as they’re pretty much identical to the filters you use in science class – the chemistry filters are just thicker and stronger.
If you pour a mixture of ground coffee and hot water into a coffee filter, the liquid will pass through the paper, and all the solids will collect in the filter. You’ll then have the pure liquid that you want (the coffee-infused water) without all the junk that you don’t (floating bits of powdered coffee bean).
This is exactly what scientific filtering does; it separates a solid from a liquid. Some advanced filters are also used to remove impurities from a liquid.
What Other Types Of Filter Are There?
You can get some more advanced filters in different branches of science, including:
- Electrical filters - these let some frequencies pass through and not others. These are used in radios, so you can tune-in to one particular station without all the other frequencies interfering.
- Optical filters (pictured) - these filter light, letting some colors through and not others. These are often used in photography.
