Instability

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-005901",
  "term": "Instability",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "The drift of an instrument's output while it runs unattended for a stated time with the measured quantity held constant, described by the movement of its mean value and by its scatter. Span instability is the shift in the instrument's span across that time, and zero instability is the shift in its response to a zero sample. In general chemistry the word instead describes a compound that decomposes or reacts readily.",
  "subject": "Chemistry and the Environment",
  "see_also": [
    "drift",
    "reading"
  ],
  "references": [
    "PAC, 1990, 62, 2167. 'Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990)' on page 2197 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199062112167)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/instability/"
}