Chromatograph

1. A chromatograph takes a chemical mixture carried by liquid or gas and separates it into its component parts as a result of differential distributions of the solutes as they flow around or over a stationary liquid or solid phase.

2. Any of various techniques for the separation of complex mixtures that rely on the differential affinities of substances for a gas or liquid mobile medium and for a stationary adsorbing medium through which they pass, such as paper, gelatin, or magnesia.

Remember that experiment you did in high school were the ink ran across the paper and seperated into the different component colours used to make the ink?