Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Floating on the surface: Describes a liquid that lies above a layer of sediment or solid material that has settled at the bottom.
   • Relating to the clear upper layer: Pertaining to the clear liquid portion that remains after particles in a suspension have settled due to gravity or centrifugation.

2. Noun:

   • The clear liquid above a sediment: The clear, often less dense, liquid that lies above a solid residue (sediment or precipitate) after a mixture has been allowed to settle or has been centrifuged.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • After centrifugation, the supernatant liquid was carefully pipetted for analysis.
  • The supernatant layer contained the dissolved proteins.

• Noun:

  • The researcher decanted the supernatant into a clean test tube.
  • Do not disturb the pellet when removing the supernatant.

Advanced Usage

• Scientific Context: The term is almost exclusively used in scientific fields like chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and environmental science to describe the separation of components in a mixture.
  • The protocol requires you to discard the supernatant after the first spin.
• Qualitative Description: Can be used to describe the clarity or nature of the separated liquid.
  • A crystal-clear supernatant indicates complete precipitation.

Variants and Related Words

• Supernate (noun): A less common synonym for the noun form 'supernatant'.
• Precipitate (noun): The solid material that settles at the bottom, forming the layer below the supernatant.
• Pellet (noun): In centrifugation, the compacted mass of solid material at the bottom of the tube.
• Sediment (noun): Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Floating, overlying, upper-layer.
• Noun: Clear liquid, supernate, upper phase.

Related Phrases / Phrasal Verbs

(Note: 'Supernatant' is a technical term and does not commonly form phrasal verbs. The following describe related laboratory actions.) - To decant the supernatant: To pour off the clear liquid without disturbing the solid below. - To aspirate the supernatant: To remove the clear liquid using suction (e.g., with a pipette). - To separate the supernatant: The general process of isolating the clear liquid from the solid.

Related Idioms

(Note: 'Supernatant' is a precise scientific term and is not used in idiomatic expressions.)

Adjective

1. of a liquid; floating on the surface above a sediment or precipitate
   • the supernatant fat was skimmed off

Noun

1. the clear liquid that lies above a sediment or precipitate