Question

Is butter an emulsion?

Answer 1

An emulsion can be defined as a mixture of two or more liquids that normally immiscible with each other where the term immiscible means unmixable substances i.e. those which make different layer on solution like the layer of oil on water.

Complete step-by-step answer: The word emulsion is taken from Latin word which has the meaning milk out as milk is an emulsion of fat and water. Emulsions can also be defined as colloids where colloid is a phase separated mixture in which one substance of microscopically dispersed insoluble or soluble particles is suspended through the another substance therefore in an easy manner we can say that emulsion is a type of colloid that is produced by mixing two liquids which are not clearly mix with each other. Out of which one liquid contains a dispersion of the other liquid inside an emulsion.
Butter is a dairy product obtained from milk. It contains 80% fat in it which remains stable at room temperature even when it is cooled down. Butter is said to be an emulsion of water in oil as the fat content is so high that it forms a continuous process from which droplets of water are distributed.
Thus we can say that butter is an emulsion.

Note: Emulsion contains both a dispersed and a continuous phase having the boundary between the phases known as the interface. Emulsions tend to have a cloudy appearance because of interference of many phases which scatter light when it passes through the emulsion.