Swelling in wooden doors happens when they absorb water, a process called imbibition. Imbibition is when solid things soak up water without making a mix. For this to happen, you need something that can soak up (like wood) and water itself. This is why wooden furniture, doors, and windows can swell up.
Here are some examples:
When seeds or dry wood soak up water, that’s imbibition too. Seeds sprout because of the pressure from imbibing water.
Water moves to areas with less of it, and some dry stuff can take it in. There has to be some attraction between what’s soaking up and the water for imbibition to happen.
Hydrophilic colloids, which are substances that like water, also soak up water through imbibition. This helps control the daily rhythms in plants like Arabidopsis thaliana.
Pea seeds with proteins soak up more water than wheat seeds with starch. Starch can soak up less, and cellulose even less than that.
When things soak up water, they can swell and create pressure. This pressure can be strong enough to split rocks. The ancient Egyptians used this to split stone blocks by putting dry wooden sticks in cracks and wetting them.
Skin grafts get oxygen and nutrients through imbibition. This keeps the cells alive until they can connect to a new blood supply.
So, the right answer is ‘Imbibition’.
In simple terms, imbibition happens when something wet pushes away something dry. The imbibing process has a strong pull for water, called matric potential. Also, warmer temperatures help imbibition happen.
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