In materials science, the sol-gel process is a method for producing solid materials from small molecules. The method is used for the fabrication of metal oxides, especially the oxides of silicon and titanium. The process involves conversion of monomers into a colloidal solution (sol) that acts as the precursor for an integrated network (or gel) of either discrete particles or network polymers. Typical precursors are metal alkoxides. == Stages in the processEdit == In this chemical procedure, the 'sol' (or solution) gradually evolves towards the formation of a gel-like diphasic system containing...

An epithet (from Greek: ἐπίθετον epitheton, neut. of ἐπίθετος epithetos, "attributed, added") is a byname, or a descriptive term (word or phrase), accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It can be described as a glorified nickname. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It can also be a descriptive title: for example, Alexis I The Quietest or Suleiman the Magnificent. In contemporary use, epithet often refers to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory phrase, such as...