Volatile

Volatile is a word meaning, roughly, "temporary" or "fickle". It has specific meanings in several fields:

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In economics:

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• Volatility is a measure of the risk in a financial instrument

In chemistry, a volatile substance vapourises to a gas at a relatively low temperature:

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• Volatile organic compounds vapourise at normal temperatures and pressures
• Volatile anaesthetics are a class of anaesthetics which vapourise easily
• Volatile substance abuse is the abuse of household inhalants containing volatile compounds
• Volatile oil is another name for "essential oil"
• Volatile acidity is an unacceptably high level of acid or vinegar, in winemaking

In computer science:

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• Volatile variables can be changed by external processes
• Volatile storage holds items in memory only while power is on