|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
volatile
volatile
1. Applied to a substance with a high vapour pressure, which passes readily into a gaseous phase. 2. (a) A dissolved element in a silicate magma which would be gaseous at that temperature except for the confining pressure and solvent nature of the magma (e.g. Cl, F, and S) and that therefore becomes gaseous when the magma reaches the Earth's surface or a zone of reduced pressure. Common volatiles include water vapour, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and there are many more. The melting temperatures of late, volatile, saturated melts may be about 600°C. They form pegmatites which have large crystals and contain some metals, e.g. lithium, molybdenum, uranium, and tin. (b) In *coal, a mixture of combustible gases (hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane) with other substances, which is given off when coal is heated without air being present. Peat contains more than 50% volatiles, lignites about 45%, anthracite 10%, and graphite less than 5%. |
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "volatile." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "volatile." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-volatile.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "volatile." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-volatile.html |
|
volatile
vol·a·tile / ˈvälətl/ • adj. 1. (of a substance) easily evaporated at normal temperatures. 2. liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, esp. for the worse: the political situation was becoming more volatile. ∎ (of a person) liable to display rapid changes of emotion. ∎ (of a computer's memory) retaining data only as long as there is a power supply connected. • n. (usu. volatiles) a volatile substance. DERIVATIVES: vol·a·til·i·ty / ˌväləˈtilitē/ n. |
|
|
Cite this article
"volatile." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "volatile." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-volatile.html "volatile." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-volatile.html |
|
volatile
volatile A substance with a high vapour pressure, which passes readily into a gaseous phase. Common volatiles include water vapour, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and there are many more. In coal, volatiles comprise the mixture of combustible gases (hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane) with other substances, which is given off when the coal is heated without air being present. Peat contains more than 50 per cent volatiles, lignites about 45 per cent, anthracite 10 per cent, and graphite less than 5 per cent.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "volatile." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "volatile." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-volatile.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "volatile." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-volatile.html |
|
volatile
volatile A term describing an element or compound that melts or boils (vaporizes) at a relatively low temperature, or (equivalently) condenses from a gas at a low temperature. Hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, and water are examples. A volatile substance is the opposite of a refractory one. The terrestrial planets and meteorites are depleted in a wide range of elements that are volatile below about 1000 K. These volatile elements are, however, widespread in the outer Solar System, beyond 4 AU from the Sun.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"volatile." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "volatile." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-volatile.html "volatile." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-volatile.html |
|
volatile
volatile evaporating rapidly; lively. XVII. — (O)F. volatil or L. volātilis, f. pp. stem of volāre fly; see -ILE.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "volatile." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "volatile." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-volatile.html T. F. HOAD. "volatile." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-volatile.html |
|
volatile
volatile (vol-ă-tyl) adj. describing a liquid that evaporates at room temperature.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"volatile." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "volatile." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-volatile.html "volatile." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-volatile.html |
|
volatile
volatile
•Billie, billy, Chile, chilli (US chili), chilly, Dili, dilly, filly, frilly, ghillie, gillie, Gilly, hilly, Lillee, lily, Lyly, papillae, Philly, Piccadilly, piccalilli, silly, skilly, stilly, Tilly, willy, willy-nilly
•Ridley, tiddly
•Brindley, spindly
•sniffly
•giggly, niggly
•jingly, shingly, Zwingli
•prickly, sickly
•crinkly, tinkly, twinkly, wrinkly
•dimly
•Finlay, inly, McKinlay
•musicianly
•kingly, tingly
•Shipley • pimply
•bristly, gristly
•princely • fitly
•drizzly, grisly, grizzly, Sisley
•Kingsley • Cybele • hillbilly • jubilee
•rockabilly • bodily
•bibliophily, cartophily, toxophily
•Galilee • family • stepfamily
•subfamily
•Emily, Semele
•facsimile, simile
•homily • contumely
•cicely, Sicily
•icily • volatile • Maithili • weevily
•tactile • pantile
•erectile, insectile, projectile
•gentile, percentile
•reptile
•sextile, textile
•hairstyle • freestyle • fictile • epistyle
•peristyle • acetyl • lifestyle • hostile
•homestyle
•butyl, futile, rutile, utile
•ductile • fluviatile • infantile
•decastyle • mercantile • cyclostyle
•volatile • hypostyle • tetrastyle
•hexastyle • versatile • fertile
•turnstile • servile • meanwhile
•erstwhile • exile
|
|
|
Cite this article
"volatile." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "volatile." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-volatile.html "volatile." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-volatile.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
