ABSTRACT
The interaction between a pair of colloidal particles is the result of interactions between all of the molecules within them, as well as those within the intervening medium (Hunter, 1986; Israelachvili, 1992). For this reason, many of the interactions between colloidal particles appear at first sight to be similar to those between molecules, for example, van der Waals, electrostatic, and steric (Chapter 2). Nevertheless, the characteristics of these colloidal interactions are often different from their molecular counterparts, because of additional features that arise due to the relatively large size of colloidal particles and the relatively large number of different kinds of molecules involved. The major emphasis of this chapter will be on interactions between emulsion droplets, although the same principles can be applied to the various other types of colloidal particles that are commonly found in foods.
