Abstract
Osmosis is a phenomenon which regulates many biological functions in plants and animals. That the plants stand upright, or the water reaches the tip of every leaf of a plant is due to osmotic pressure. The fact that we cannot survive by drinking seawater is also linked to this same phenomenon. J H van’ t Hoff showed in 1886 that osmotic pressure is related to concentration and temperature of the solution by a law that is similar to the gas law. An understanding of this phenomenon paved the way not only in explaining the biological functions which depend on osmosis, but also in creating conditions for reversing it known as ‘reverse osmosis’. Reverse osmosis has many applications, one of which is desalination of seawater. The inaugural Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in 1901 to van’ t Hoff for his seminal work in this area. The present article explains the principle of osmosis and reverse osmosis.
Similar content being viewed by others
Suggested Reading
S Glasstone, Textbook of Physical Chemistry, Macmillan India, New Delhi, 1974.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Sudhakar M Rao is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and is presently the Chairman of Center for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His research areas include, unsaturated soil behaviour, hazardous waste management, water quality and remediation of contaminated water.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rao, S.M. Reverse Osmosis. Reson 16, 1333–1336 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-011-0151-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-011-0151-8