Volatile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Volatile means something changing or changeable. It can refer to:
In economics:
- Volatility, a measure of the risk in a financial instrument
In chemistry:
- Volatility (physics), the speed that a chemical compound evaporates
- Volatile liquids, liquids with a high vapor pressure or low boiling point
- Volatile organic compounds, organic compounds that can evaporate at normal temperature and pressure, and are often regulated by governments
- Volatile anaesthetics, a class of anaesthetics which evaporate easily
- Volatile substance abuse, the abuse of household inhalants containing volatile compounds
- Volatile oil, also known as essential oil, an oil derived from plants with aromatic compounds used in cosmetics and flavoring
- Volatile acidity, a term used in winemaking to indicate an unacceptably high level of acid or vinegar
In computer science:
- Volatile variables, variables that can be changed by an external process
- Volatile memory, memory that lasts only while the power is on (and thus would be lost after a restart)
In geology:
- Volatiles, the volatile compounds of magma (mostly water vapor) that affect the appearance and strength of volcanoes
