Distillation is a process used to separate components of a liquid mixture by heating the mixture to create vapor, then cooling the vapor to condense it back into liquid form. The process takes advantage of the differences in boiling points of the components in the mixture, allowing for the separation of different components based on their volatility. Distillation is commonly used in industries such as oil refining, chemical manufacturing, and the production of alcoholic beverages. It is an important technique for purifying and isolating specific compounds from complex mixtures.