Volatility (chemistry) Volatility (chemistry) In chemistry and physics, volatility is quantified by the tendency of a substance to vaporize. Volatility is directly related to a substance's vapor pressure. At a given temperature, a substance with higher vapor pressure vaporizes more readily than a substance with a lower vapor pressure. The term is primarily written to be applied to liquids; however, it may be used to describe the process of sublimation which is associated with solid substances, such as dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and osmium tetroxide (OsO), which can change directly from the solid state to a vapor, without becoming liquid. The
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Sound, Quantities and Units, and Miscellaneous. Earlier editions included sections such as "Antidotes of Poisons", "Rules for Naming Organic Compounds", "Surface Tension of Fused Salts", "Percent Composition of Anti-Freeze Solutions", "Spark-gap Voltages", "Greek Alphabet", "Musical Scales", "Pigments and Dyes", "Comparison of Tons and Pounds", "Twist Drill and Steel Wire Gauges" and "Properties of the Earth's Atmosphere at Elevations up to 160 Kilometers". Later editions focus almost exclusively on Chemistry and Physics topics and eliminated much of the more "common" information. In addition to an extensive line of engineering handbooks and references and textbooks across virtually all scientific disciplines, CRC is