Absorption: Compare with adsorption and sorption. 1. Penetration of molecules into the bulk of a solid or liquid, forming either a solution or compound. Absorption can be a chemical process (a strong solution of naoh absorbs CO2 from the air) or a physical process (palladium absorbs hydrogen gas). 2. Capture and transformation of energy by a substance; for example, copper looks reddish because it absorbs blue light. An absorbent captures another material and distributes it throughout; an adsorbent captures another material and distributes it on its surface only.

 

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Absorption: The process in which incident radiant energy is retained by a substance. The absorbed radiation is then transformed into molecular energy.

Absorption Spectrum: A plot that shows how much radiation a substance absorbs at different wavelengths. Absorption spectra are unique for each element and compound and they are often used as chemical 'fingerprin . . . View Full Definition

Absorption Rate: The total number of vacant square feet of office space divided by the square footage leased per year historically. Used to analyze demand of office space in a given market area.

Reabsorption: The return to the blood of most of the water, sodium, amino acids, and sugar that were removed during filtration; occurs mainly in the proximal tubule of the nephron.