ideal solution
Best possible fix
An ideal solution in chemistry is a mixture where molecules of different components interact with each other exactly as they do with their own kind—no preference, no aversion.
Real solutions approach this behavior when their components are chemically similar: Benzene and toluene form a nearly ideal solution.
The concept provides a baseline for predicting how mixtures will behave.
Outside chemistry, an ideal solution is simply the perfect answer to a problem: There's no ideal solution, but this comes close.
- answerSolution to query
- best fitMost suitable option
- silver bulletPerfect single remedy
- magic formulaSupposed guaranteed solution
- conclusionEnd or deduction
alternative · win-win situation · miscibility · paragon · textbook example · chemistry · toluene · touchstone · osmotic pressure · benzene · mixture · yardstick · end · activity coefficient · partial pressure · freezing point depression · boiling point elevation · bellwether
- Simplificationsfrictionless, point source, rigid body, blackbody, free fall
- thermodynamicsentropy, enthalpy, heat transfer, free energy, heat capacity
ideal solutionworst-case scenario
Most unfavorable possible outcome
failure · fiasco · catastrophe · disaster
ideal solutioncompromise
Agreement through mutual sacrifice
half-measure · stopgap · band-aid solution · workaround · kludge
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