[Gosseyn]

I'm trying to use a comparison of the surface energy generated by particles of 1 micron in size (greater in size than a colloidal particle) dispersed in a liquid phase (water) with the surface energy generated by large colloidal particles of .01 microns dispersed in the same amount of liquid.  I think the surface energy generated by the colloidal particles would be something like 11,000 times greater than that of the micron-sized particles, but don't know for sure.  To make such a comparison fair, would the number of particles have to be roughly equal?  I would think so.  Would that be calculated in ergs or calories or what?  Also, if one were to compare the surface energy of the particles with the kinetic energy of the vibration of the molecules of water, would everything be in the same ergs or something?  How do you find out experimentally the surface energy of the particles and the molecular kinetic energy of the water?  These are pretty ignorant questions, but I'm trying.         

[Gosseyn]

I'm trying to use a comparison of the surface energy generated by particles of 1 micron in size (greater in size than a colloidal particle) dispersed in a liquid phase (water) with the surface energy generated by large colloidal particles of .01 microns dispersed in the same amount of liquid.  I think the surface energy generated by the colloidal particles would be something like 11,000 times greater than that of the micron-sized particles, but don't know for sure.  To make such a comparison fair, would the number of particles have to be roughly equal?  I would think so.  Would that be calculated in ergs or calories or what?  Also, if one were to compare the surface energy of the particles with the kinetic energy of the vibration of the molecules of water, would everything be in the same ergs or something?  How do you find out experimentally the surface energy of the particles and the molecular kinetic energy of the water?  These are pretty ignorant questions, but I'm trying.         

"To make such a comparison fair, would the number of particles have to be roughly equal?  I would think so."

Oops, no.  The total amount of material would have to be the same but the number of colloidal particles in the mixture would be much higher because they are more finely divided.