At room temperature....
How long will the sugar stay suspended once dissolved ?
What governs the rate of settling ?
What part does Brownian motion play ?
Sugar might be a bad example...please substitute as needed.
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1 Answer
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Anything dissolved is kept "suspended" by brownian motion. Theoreticly there will be a small gradient of concentration due to gravity, but this is unmeasurable for sugar. (Barometric formula). For much bigger particles (ãbout µm) , this gradient can be determined.
The sugar will stay dissolved until the water evaporates, then the sugar will form a solid residue. (if You are lucky, as crystals) Settling does not occur with molecules.
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$\begingroup$ I'd like to see an explicit mention of entropy vs internal energy, and a bit more thermodynamics in the answer, rather than just a microscopically detailed mechanical description. $\endgroup$– gennethCommented Feb 21, 2011 at 10:14
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$\begingroup$ @ genneth, Feel free to write an answer including entropy. $\endgroup$– GeorgCommented Feb 21, 2011 at 11:02