What is the difference between dissolution and absorption?
Casual use of &quot;absorption&quot; is different from the normal, technical, use of the term
The key difference between &quot;absorption&quot; and &quot;solution&quot; is confused in your examples because you use the casual use of the term not the technical one. Even so, the two processes are very distinct.
Solutions are homogeneous. But when things are absorbed, either in casual use or technical use, there are distinct phases. Absorption is usually a technical term for a surface phenomenon where, for example, gas molecules stick to the surface of a catalyst. This is a widely studied process as it is a vital part of many major industrial processes. Water absorbed onto cotton wool is a more casual use of the term absorption but the result is still not a homogeneous mixture. Liquid water sticks to the surface of the fine fibres of cotton wool by surface tension. There are still two phases: liquid water and solid fibre.
Only in the most careless and casual use should you ever describe the process of dissolving sugar in water (or sugar taking up water) as one &quot;absorbing&quot; the other.