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| == '''[[Volatility (chemistry)]]''' ==
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| ''by [[User:Milton Beychok|Milton Beychok]] (and [[User:Anthony.Sebastian|Anthony.Sebastian]])
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| | | ==Footnotes== |
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| {{Image|Vapor Pressure Chart2.png|right|250px|Example vapor pressure graphs of various liquids.}} | |
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| In [[chemistry]] and [[physics]], '''volatility''' is a term used to characterize the tendency of a substance to vaporize.<ref>'''Note:''' To vaporize means to become a [[vapor]], the gaseous state of the substance.</ref> It is directly related to a substance' s [[vapor pressure]]. At a given [[temperature]], a substance with a higher vapor pressure will vaporize more readily than a substance with a lower vapor pressure.<ref>[http://www.bae.uky.edu/~snokes/BAE549thermo/gasesvapor.htm Gases and Vapor] ([[University of Kentucky]] website)</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Speight|title=The Chemistry and Technology of Petroleum|edition=4th Edition|publisher=CRC Press|date=2006|isbn=0-8493-9067-2}}</ref><ref name=Kister>{{cite book|author=Kister, Henry Z.|title=[[Distillation Design]]|edition=1st Edition|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1992|isbn=0-07-034909-6}}</ref> In other words, at a given temperature, the more volatile the substance the higher will be the pressure of the vapor in dynamic equilibrium with its vaporizing substance—i.e., when the rates at which molecules escape from and return into the vaporizing substance are equal.
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| In common usage, the term applies primarily to [[liquid]]s. However, it may also be used to characterize the process of [[Sublimation (chemistry)|sublimation]] by which certain [[solid]] substances such as [[ammonium chloride]] (NH<sub>4</sub>Cl) and [[dry ice]], which is solid [[carbon dioxide]] (CO<sub>2</sub>), change directly from their solid form to a vapor without becoming a liquid.
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| Any substance with a significant vapor pressure at temperatures of about 20 to 25 °[[Celsius (unit)|C]] (68 to 77 °[[Fahrenheit (unit)|F]]) is very often referred to as being ''volatile''.
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| === Vapor pressure, temperature and boiling point ===
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| The vapor pressure of a substance is the pressure at which its gaseous (vapor) phase is in equilibrium with its liquid or solid phase. It is a measure of the tendency of [[molecule]]s and [[atom]]s to escape from a liquid or solid.
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| At [[atmospheric pressure]]s, when a liquid's vapor pressure increases with increasing temperatures to the point at which it equals the atmospheric pressure, the liquid has reached its [[boiling point]], namely, the temperature at which the liquid changes its state from a liquid to a gas throughout its bulk. That temperature is very commonly referred to as the liquid's ''normal boiling point''.
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| Not surprisingly, a liquid's normal boiling point will be at a lower temperature the greater is the tendency of its molecules to escape from the liquid, namely, the higher is its vapor pressure. In other words, the higher is the vapor pressure of a liquid, the higher is the volatility and the lower is the normal boiling point of the liquid. The adjacent vapor pressure chart graphs the dependency of vapor pressure upon temperature for a variety of liquids<ref name=Perry>{{cite book|author=R.H. Perry and D.W. Green (Editors)|title=Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook | edition=7th Edition|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1997|id=ISBN 0-07-049842-5}}</ref> and also confirms that liquids with higher vapor pressures have lower normal boiling points.
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| ''[[Volatility (chemistry)|.... (read more)]]''
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| ! style="text-align: center;" | [[Volatility (chemistry)#References|notes]]
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| {{reflist|2}} | | {{reflist|2}} |
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| | </small> |
Latest revision as of 09:19, 11 September 2020
After decades of failure to slow the rising global consumption of coal, oil and gas,[1] many countries have proceeded as of 2024 to reconsider nuclear power in order to lower the demand for fossil fuels.[2] Wind and solar power alone, without large-scale storage for these intermittent sources, are unlikely to meet the world's needs for reliable energy.[3][4][5] See Figures 1 and 2 on the magnitude of the world energy challenge.
Nuclear power plants that use nuclear reactors to create electricity could provide the abundant, zero-carbon, dispatchable[6] energy needed for a low-carbon future, but not by simply building more of what we already have. New innovative designs for nuclear reactors are needed to avoid the problems of the past.
(CC) Image: Geoff Russell Fig.1 Electricity consumption may soon double, mostly from coal-fired power plants in the developing world.
[7] Issues Confronting the Nuclear Industry
New reactor designers have sought to address issues that have prevented the acceptance of nuclear power, including safety, waste management, weapons proliferation, and cost. This article will summarize the questions that have been raised and the criteria that have been established for evaluating these designs. Answers to these questions will be provided by the designers of these reactors in the articles on their designs. Further debate will be provided in the Discussion and the Debate Guide pages of those articles.
- ↑ Global Energy Growth by Our World In Data
- ↑ Countries, organizations, and public figures that have reconsidered their stance on nuclear power are listed on the External Links tab of this article.
- ↑ Pumped storage is currently the most economical way to store electricity, but it requires a large reservoir on a nearby hill or in an abandoned mine. Li-ion battery systems at $500 per KWh are not practical for utility-scale storage. See Energy Storage for a summary of other alternatives.
- ↑ Utilities that include wind and solar power in their grid must have non-intermittent generating capacity (typically fossil fuels) to handle maximum demand for several days. They can save on fuel, but the cost of the plant is the same with or without intermittent sources.
- ↑ Mark Jacobson believes that long-distance transmission lines can provide an alternative to costly storage. See the bibliography for more on this proposal and the critique by Christopher Clack.
- ↑ "Load following" is the term used by utilities, and is important when there is a lot of wind and solar on the grid. Some reactors are not able to do this.
- ↑ Fig.1.3 in Devanney "Why Nuclear Power has been a Flop"
