Literary notes about Dispersion (AI summary)
The word "dispersion" is employed in literature to capture both literal and metaphorical processes of scattering and diffusion. In historical and theological narratives, it often describes the spread or migration of peoples, such as the scattering of the Jews across nations ([1], [2], [3]), or the dispersal of communities following conflict or revolution ([4], [5]). At the same time, scientific and philosophical texts discuss dispersion in contexts ranging from the separation of light into its component rays ([6], [7], [8]) to the diffusion of substances in a medium ([9], [10]). Moreover, narrative works use the term to depict the breaking apart or dissolution of a group, whether it be a crowd or a collective emotion ([11], [12]). In each instance, "dispersion" functions as a versatile metaphor for separation and fragmentation across diverse fields of inquiry.
- Even the dispersion of the Jews, though foretold by our Saviour, was effected by arms.
— from Common Sense by Thomas Paine - The seed of Jacob shall be gathered from their long dispersion.
— from The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry, and Travels by Parley P. (Parley Parker) Pratt - whereby the Word was made flesh; and of the dispersion of the Jews among all nations, as had been prophesied.
— from The City of God, Volume II by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - The partition of Poland, and the dispersion of the Poles all over Europe, have been active agencies in the revolutionary movements of that continent.
— from Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs, Vol. 1 by George S. (George Sewall) Boutwell - The social unity of the Jews has been weakened to a marked degree since the dispersion, in spite of their physiological and confessional unity.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - The dispersion of the ordinary ray differs from that of the extraordinary ray.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The deviation and dispersion vary with the refracting angle B A C of the prism, and with the substance of which it is made.
— from On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences by Mary Somerville - Refraction is always accompanied with the accessory phenomenon of dispersion.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Pure starch admixed with water and boiled, passes into a condition of colloidal dispersion, or semi-solution, known as starch paste (Sherman).
— from Dietetics for Nurses by Fairfax T. (Fairfax Throckmorton) Proudfit - The characteristic of such a solution is the fineness of sub-division—the dispersion—of the "dissolved" substance.
— from The London Mercury, Vol. I, Nos. 1-6, November 1919 to April 1920 by Various - Her shame was interrupted by the dispersion of the guests.
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - As soon as there came a dispersion among the crowd, the one slipped away after the other, until the whole multitude was dissolved.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson
