TOP 10 PERMEABILITY EXAMPLES - SCIENCE - 2025

Some examples of permeability include materials such as paper, cardboard, cotton, wool, and sponges; and natural elements such as bird feathers, wheat, sand and dirt.

Permeability is a physical property that allows some materials to be traversed by a fluid, in a limited period of time, and without implying a change in their molecular structure.

The passage of fluid through the permeable material depends on three variables: porosity, viscosity of the fluid and the pressure of the latter on the surface of the material.

Permeability is not a permanent property; It basically depends on the interaction of the fluid, either a liquid or a gas, with the permeable material.

Top 10 examples of permeable materials

1- Cell membranes

Plant and animal cells are covered by a selective permeability membrane, which defines the structure of the cells and the differentiation between the intracellular and extracellular environment.

The function of the membrane is essentially to separate the cytoplasm from the external environment.

It is said to be semi-permeable because it allows the absorption and expulsion of only specific substances through this pathway.

2- Paper

Depending on the thickness and type of the paper, the permeability varies. However, in general terms the paper has good permeability.

3- Cardboard

Cardboard is made up of several superimposed layers of paper, each with a different composition and strength.

In turn, each layer of paper is made from virgin and / or recycled pulp. Both materials let fluids pass through each other with ease.

4- Wool

It is a natural fiber obtained directly from goats. Given its characteristics, it is widely used in the textile industry for the production of winter clothing.

5- Sponges

Sponges are usually made from plastic polymers and are highly porous utensils, which facilitate the passage of liquids through them.

6- Feathers

Bird feathers are also characterized by allowing fluids to pass through them, depending on the species of bird, the size of the feather and the distance between the fibers that compose it.

7- Cotton

This textile fiber is highly permeable. Due to its properties, it is used as a base raw material for the manufacture of materials for medical use, such as cotton balls or zigzag cotton.

8- Wheat

This cereal is highly permeable. That is why it is important that it be protected under adequate storage conditions, to avoid deterioration due to the flow of liquid through it.

9- Sand

Sand is very permeable, especially if it is coarse-grained or unconsolidated sand.

Given its physico-chemical properties, being an extremely dry material, sand does not absorb moisture. Therefore, liquids pass through it comfortably.

10- Earth

Similarly, the constitution of the earth makes it possible for liquid to flow through it with relative ease.

References

1. Medical Dictionary: Permeability. University of Navarra Clinic. Navarra, Spain. Recovered from: cun.es
2. Hernández, R. (2011). Botany Online Book. University of the Andes. Merida, Venezuela. Recovered from: forest.ula.ve
3. Lowery, P. (2017). How to Explain Permeability. Recovered from: sciencing.com
4. Pérez, J., and Gardey, A. (2013). Definition of Permeable. Recovered from: definicion.de
5. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2017). Permeability. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org