Phase diagram can be constructed that show the effect of more than two variables on the phase of a substance. Phase diagrams can use other variables in addition to or in place of temperature, pressure and composition, for example the strength of an applied electrical or magnetic field, and they can also involve substances that take on more than just three states of matter. One type of phase diagram plots temperature against the relative concentrations of two substances in a mixture called a "binary phase diagram", as shown at right. Such a mixture can be either a solid solution, eutectic or peritectic,
Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures A homogeneous mixture is a solid, liquid, or gaseous mixture that has the same proportions of its components throughout any given sample. Conversely, a heterogeneous mixture has components whose proportions vary throughout the sample. "Homogeneous" and "heterogeneous" are not absolute terms but depend on context and the size of the sample. In chemistry, a homogeneous suspension of material means that when dividing the volume in half, the same amount of material is suspended in both halves of the substance; however, it might be possible to see the particles under a microscope. An example of a homogeneous