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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

leicht flüchtig

English translation:

volatile

Added to glossary by Languageman
Mar 3, 2008 07:12
16 yrs ago
5 viewers *
German term

leicht flüchtig

German to English Tech/Engineering Chemistry; Chem Sci/Eng Gasmesstechnik
This comes from the introduction to a text discussing the use of a tracer gas to detect leaks in water pipes:
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Allerdings wird dabei ein spezielles Gas verwendet - ein so genanntes Tracergas. Dieses kann durchaus unterschiedliche Zusammensetzungen haben, oder aus reinen Gasen bestehen. Allerdings sind es immer **leicht flüchtige**, nicht brennbare und nicht giftige Gase. So hat sich heute eine Mischung aus 5% Wasserstoff in Stickstoff durchgesetzt.
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I have looked at the ProZ glossary and found "volatile", and also found a convincing number of hits for "slightly volatile", but I have a suspicion that is not correct here. Mainly because this is talking about gases and, as far as I understand it, the term 'volatile' is usually applied to the ability of a liquid to evaporate (i.e. it is not applicable to a gas). Chemistry isn't my strongest subject though!

I'm inclined to think that this means "easily dispersible" from the context, but would welcome some confirmation or this, or other suggestions.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Stephen

Discussion

Languageman (asker) Mar 3, 2008:
Good reference Thanks. There is not a single mention of 'volatile' there!
Ed Friesen Mar 3, 2008:
Further (indirect) corroboration for the "low-viscosity" hypothesis in the excellent article at NDTnet: http://www.ndt.net/article/wcndt2004/html/htmltxt/523_block....
Languageman (asker) Mar 3, 2008:
@gazoo Indeed, that's why I felt I had to ask the question!
Ed Friesen Mar 3, 2008:
For tracer gases, people want a gas that (1) isn't toxic, (2) won't burn or explode, hence the 9/95 mix, and (3) has low viscosity, i.e. disperses well. I know (3) is a bit of a stretch for "leicht flüchtig". Any chemists here, to enlighten us? ;-
Harry Borsje Mar 3, 2008:
Apart from the term you've asked about, I'd say a hydrogen mixture doesn't necessarily qualify as non-combustible either. Given that, I'd just go with the standard translation. The only other interpretation would be 'low-density' i.e. lighter than air.

Proposed translations

+3
18 mins
Selected

volatile

see link below
Peer comment(s):

neutral Edith Kelly : this may be but asker posed a specific question whether volatile can apply to gases
2 mins
agree DC Josephs : yes, and "highly" as well
2 mins
neutral Harry Borsje : I don't think a dictionary reference is really helpfull here (assuming you've read the entire question in the first place...)
3 mins
agree Sabine Akabayov, PhD : at some point anz gas is a liquid (or due to temperature or pressure), so it's perfectly okay to use this term for gases. Probably the tracergas comes in a pressurized form
7 mins
agree Félicien Sirois : "volatile" absolutely can refer to gases.
8 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I checked with the customer in the end, and this is what they wanted. Thanks all for the detailed input. Customer's comment: "Die Übersetzung für "leicht flüchtig" soll bei "volatile" bleiben.""
19 mins

readily volatile

I still think this is the meaning though of course you are right that this term applies predominantly to liquids.



Photo-ionization detector for volatile gas measurement and a ...- [ Diese Seite übersetzen ]A photo-ionization detector (PID) includes an ultraviolet (UV) lamp that transmits UV light into an ionization chamber to ionize volatile gases.
www.freepatentsonline.com/6225633.html
Peer comment(s):

neutral hazmatgerman (X) : Wir bei Gefahrgut nur im Zusammenhang mit "miscible" benutzt.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+3
24 mins

highly volatile

I seem to remember this from my translation training...

If it's wrong then our teacher was wrong....:(
Peer comment(s):

agree hazmatgerman (X) : Dies stimmt mit der für Gefahrgut üblichen Terminologie überein.@Scheibelein: also generally higher vapour pressure.
1 hr
agree Gillian Scheibelein : there is a difference between "flüchtig" (volatile) and "leicht flüchtig" (highly volatile). It is a property of the substance itself. A highly volatile substance generally has a lower condensation point and will thus remain in the gaseous phase
1 hr
agree Claire Cox
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

fast/quickly dissipating

This may be what you are looking for in this context: see reference below

Leak detection using the hydrogen method is becoming more common in industry. One reason for this is that hydrogen is the cheapest tracer gas available. The actual gas mix used is a safe mixture of 5% hydrogen in nitrogen. Another reason is the inherent characteristics of hydrogen. Hydrogen is the lightest and least viscous of all gases. It spreads very quickly throughout the test object and seeps quickly through the smallest leak. Background interference is easily minimized because of the speed with which hydrogen dissipates.

http://www.adixen-usa.com/adixen_us/download/docs/prod/doc1p...


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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-03-03 14:37:17 GMT)
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** fast dispersing ** is another possibility, in accordance with option (3) by gazoo.
Note from asker:
Yes, that's what I thought too. I think I'd best double check with the client.
Something went wrong...
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