What is "foam"

Foam \Foam\ (f[=o]m), n. [OE. fam, fom, AS. f[=a]m; akin to OHG. & G. feim.] The white substance, consisting of an aggregation of bubbles, which is formed on the surface of liquids, or in the mouth of an animal, by violent agitation or fermentation; froth; spume; scum; as, the foam of the sea.

Foam cock, in steam boilers, a cock at the water level, to blow off impurities.

Foam \Foam\ (f[=o]m), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Foamed (f[=o]md); p. pr. & vb. n. Foaming.] [AS. f[=ae]man. See Foam, n.]

1. To gather foam; to froth; as, the billows foam.

   He foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth.
   --Mark ix. 18.

2. To form foam, or become filled with foam; -- said of a steam boiler when the water is unduly agitated and frothy, as because of chemical action.

Foam \Foam\ (f[=o]m), v. t. To cause to foam; as, to foam the goblet; also (with out), to throw out with rage or violence, as foam. ``Foaming out their own shame.''
--Jude 13.

Middle English fom, fome (c.1300), from Old English fam "foam, saliva froth; sea," from West Germanic *faimo- (cognates: Old High German veim, German Feim), from PIE root *(s)poi-mo- "foam, froth" (cognates: Sanskrit phenah; Latin pumex "pumice," spuma "foam;" Old Church Slavonic pena "foam;" Lithuanian spaine "a streak of foam"). The plastic variety used in packaging, etc., so called from 1937.

Old English famgian "to emit foam, to boil," from the source of foam (n.). Sense of "become foamy, to froth" is from late 14c. Transitive sense is from 1725. Related: Foamed; foaming.

n. A substance composed of a large collection of bubbles or their solidified remains. vb. (lb en intransitive) To form or emit foam.

1. n. a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid [syn: froth]

2. a lightweight material in cellular form; made by introducing gas bubbles during manufacture

v. form bubbles; "The boiling soup was frothing"; "The river was foaming"; "Sparkling water" [syn: froth, fizz, effervesce, sparkle]

A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the regions of gas.

An important division of solid foams is into closed-cell foams and open-cell foams. In a closed-cell foam, the gas forms discrete pockets, each completely surrounded by the solid material. In an open-cell foam, the gas pockets connect with each other. A bath sponge is an example of an open-cell foam: water can easily flow through the entire structure, displacing the air. A camping mat is an example of a closed-cell foam: the gas pockets are sealed from each other so the mat cannot soak up water.

Foams are examples of dispersed media. In general, gas is present in large amount so it will be divided into gas bubbles of many different sizes (the material is polydisperse) separated by liquid regions which may form films, thinner and thinner when the liquid phase is drained out of the system films. When the principal scale is small, i.e. for a very fine foam, this dispersed medium can be considered as a type of colloid.

The term foam may also refer to anything that is analogous to such a foam, such as quantum foam, polyurethane foam ( foam rubber), XPS foam, polystyrene, phenolic, or many other manufactured foams.

The use of foam in cuisine has been used in many forms in the history of cooking. For example, whipped cream, meringue, and mousse are all foams. In these cases, the incorporation of air or another gas creates a lighter texture and/or different mouth feel. More recently, foams have become a part of molecular gastronomy technique. In these cases, natural flavors (such as fruit juices, infusions of aromatic herbs, etc.) are mixed with a neutrally-flavored gelling or stabilizing agent such as agar or lecithin, and either whipped with a hand-held immersion blender or extruded through a whipped cream canister equipped with nitrous oxide cartridges. Such foams add flavor without significant substance, and thus allow cooks to integrate new flavors without changing the physical composition of a dish. Some famous food-foams are foamed espresso, foamed mushroom, foamed beet and foamed coconut. An espuma or thermo whip is commonly used to make these foams through the making of a stock, creating a gel and extruding through the nitrous oxide canister.

FoAM describes itself as "a network of transdisciplinary labs for speculative culture". The networked, Brussels-based collective constitutes a group of designers, scientists, cooks, artists, engineers and gardeners who share an interest in taking knowledge from their respective areas of expertise and applying it in new public contexts. Guided by the motto "Grow your own worlds," the practice of this multidisciplinary research group aims at integrating principles of ethical living, sustainable design and eco-technology. FoAM's overall mission is shaped by its various participating artists and technologists, who have sensed a need for mediation between the artistic and the scientific worlds.

FoAM was founded by Maja Kuzmanovic in 2000 as a cultural research department in Starlab. In 2001, FoAM became an independent, distributed entity with cells in Brussels and Amsterdam. Since that time, the core group of this de facto new-media think tank has included members from Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Croatia, Lithuania, the UK, and Sweden; its larger network has attracted people from around the world.

Since 2004 FoAM has positioned itself as the only Flemish "Hybrid Reality Lab," with a primary focus on the field of hybrid reality (technologies, media and materials entangling the physical and the digital).

Foam may refer to:

• Foam, a substance that is formed by trapping gas bubbles in a liquid or solid.
• Foam (culinary), a modern food preparation and presentation technique
• Foam (organization), known as FoAM, an art and technology organization
• Foam hand, a sports paraphernalia item
• Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, known as FOAM, a photography museum in Amsterdam
• OpenFOAM, an open source finite volume pde solver used in a variety of computational fluid dynamics applications

• , a United States Navy trawler and minesweeper in commission from 1918 to 1919

• First Office Action on the Merits, a form of Office action in United States patent law
• Flag officer#United Kingdom Attached Middle East, a former major command of the Royal Navy