Process by which two phases merge to form a larger one with a lower total surface area
In chemistry, coalescence is a process in which two phase domains of the same composition come together and form a larger phase domain. In other words, the process by which two or more separate masses of miscible substances
seem to "pull" each other together should they make the slightest
contact.
Disappearance of the boundary between two particles in contact, or between a particle and a polymer macrophase followed by changes of shape leading to a reduction of the total surface area.
Note 2: The coagulation of an emulsion, viz. the formation of aggregates, may be followed by coalescence. If coalescence is extensive it leads to the breaking of an emulsion.[3]
^Alan D. MacNaught, Andrew R. Wilkinson, ed. (1997). Compendium of Chemical Terminology: IUPAC Recommendations (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Science. ISBN0865426848.