volatile

(adjective)

evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions; having a low boiling point

Related Terms

  • Photochemical smog
  • monatomic

Examples of volatile in the following topics:

  • Vapor Pressure of Nonelectrolyte Solutions

    • A substance that evaporates quickly has high vapor pressure and is referred to as a volatile substance.
    • The vapor pressure of a solvent is lowered by the addition of a non-volatile solute to form a solution.
    • By definition, a non-volatile substance does not evaporate.
  • Esters

    • Esters are typically fragrant, and those with low enough molecular weights to be volatile are commonly used as perfumes and are found in essential oils and pheromones.
    • Their flexibility and low polarity affects their physical properties on a macroscopic scale; they tend to be less rigid, leading to a lower melting point, and more volatile, leading to a lower boiling point, than the corresponding amides.
    • Consequently, esters are more volatile than carboxylic acids of similar molecular weight.
    • Esters are usually identified by gas chromatography, taking advantage of their volatility.
  • Photochemical Smog

    • This type of air pollution is formed through the reaction of solar radiation with airborne pollutants like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.
    • Primary pollutants include nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds as a result of industrial processes, while secondary pollutants are created through the reaction of primary pollutants with ultraviolet light.
  • The Mass Spectrometer

    • Gases and volatile liquid samples are allowed to leak into the ion source from a reservoir (as shown).
    • Non-volatile solids and liquids may be introduced directly.
  • Air Pollution

  • Bonding in Metals: The Electron Sea Model

    • This property contributes to the low volatility, high melting and boiling points, and high density of most metals.
  • Molecular Crystals

    • Molecular solids tend to be soft or deformable, have low melting points, and are often sufficiently volatile to evaporate directly into the gas phase.
    • Because dispersion forces and the other van der Waals forces increase with the number of atoms, large molecules are generally less volatile, and have higher melting points than smaller ones.
  • Chromium

    • The only binary compound is the volatile chromium(V) fluoride (CrF5).
  • Introduction

    • Alternatively, solids may either be incorporated in a thin KBr disk, prepared under high pressure, or mixed with a little non-volatile liquid and ground to a paste (or mull) that is smeared between salt plates.
  • Terpenes

    • Next to methane it is the most common volatile organic compound found in the atmosphere.
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