Aerosol

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-000650",
  "term": "Aerosol",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A suspension of liquid or solid particles in air.\n\n2. Small droplets or particles suspended in the atmosphere, typically containing sulfur. They are usually emitted naturally (e.g. in volcanic eruptions) and as the result of anthropogenic (human) activities such as burning fossil fuels.\n\n3. The pressurized gas used to propel substances out of a container.\n\n4. A finely divided material suspended in air or other gaseous environment.\n\n5. A collection of tiny solid or liquid particles in the atmosphere that can come from natural sources (such as wildfires, dust storms, and volcanoes) or people's activities (such as burning fossil fuels). Some aerosols make the atmosphere warmer because they absorb energy. Others have a cooling effect because they reflect sunlight back to space. Aerosols also influence cloud formation.\n\n6. Particulate matter, solid or liquid, larger than a molecule but small enough to remain suspended in the atmosphere. Natural sources include salt particles from sea spray, dust and clay particles as a result of weathering of rocks, both of which are carried upward by the wind. Aerosols can also originate as a result of human activities and are often considered pollutants. Aerosols are important in the atmosphere as nuclei for the condensation of water droplets and ice crystals, as participants in various chemical cycles, and as absorbers and scatters of solar radiation, thereby influencing the radiation budget of the Earth's climate system. See climate, particulate matter.\n\n7. A suspended liquid or solid particle in a gaseous medium.\n\n8. A small droplet or particle suspended in the atmosphere, typically containing sulfur. Aerosols are emitted naturally (e.g., in volcanic eruptions) and as the result of human activities (e.g., by burning fossil fuels). There is no connection between particulate aerosols and pressurized products also called aerosols. (See alternative definition of \"aerosol\").\n\n9. A product that relies on a pressurized gas to propel substances out of a container. Consumer aerosol products in the United States have not used ozone-depleting substances (ODS) since the late 1970s because of voluntary switching followed by federal regulation. The Clean Air Act and EPA regulations further restricted the use of ODS for non-consumer products. All consumer products, and most other aerosol products, now use propellants that do not deplete the ozone layer, such as hydrocarbons and compressed gases.\n\n10. Particulate matter, solid or liquid, larger than a molecule but small enough to remain suspended in the atmosphere. Natural sources include salt particles from sea spray, dust and clay particles as a result of weathering of rocks, both of which are carried upward by the wind. Aerosols can also originate as a result of human activities and are often considered pollutants. Aerosols are important in the atmosphere as nuclei for the condensation of water droplets and ice crystals, as participants in various chemical cycles, and as absorbers and scatters of solar radiation, thereby influencing the radiation budget of the Earth's climate system.\n\n11. Particles of liquid or solid dispersed as a suspension in gas.\n\n12. Small droplet or particle suspended in the atmosphere, typically containing sulfur. Aerosols are emitted naturally (e.g., in volcanic eruptions) and as the result of human activities (e.g., by burning fossil fuels). There is no connection between particulate aerosols and pressurized products also called aerosols.\n\n13. A suspension of liquid or solid particles in air. [EPA 2003]\n\n14. Small droplets or particles suspended in the atmosphere, typically containing sulfur. They are usually emitted naturally (e.g. in volcanic eruptions) and as the result of anthropogenic (human) activities such as burning fossil fuels. [EPA 2005b]\n\n15. Small particles or liquid droplets in the atmosphere that can absorb or reflect sunlight depending on their composition.\n\n16. A fine mist or spray that contains minute particles and may contain microorganisms. [Queensland Health 2005]\n\n17. System in which the dispersion medium is a gas and the dispersed phase (composed of solid particles or liquid droplet) does not settle out under the influence of gravity. [SRA 2004]\n\n18. Suspension of solid or liquid particles in the atmosphere.\n\n19. A collection of fine liquid or solid particles suspended in air. An aerosolized substance is easily dispersed through the air and can be spread over a wide area.",
  "subject": "Health and safety",
  "references": [
    "Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Glossary; EPA 2003",
    "Terms of Environment; EPA 2005b",
    "Terms of Environment",
    "Student's Guide to Global Climate Change",
    "Greenhouse Gas Emissions",
    "I-BEAM Glossary of Terms",
    "Ozone Layer Protection Glossary",
    "Greenhouse Emissions Glossary",
    "NASA Earth Observatory Glossary",
    "Thesaurus of Terms Used in Microbial Risk Assessment",
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms",
    "Basic Concepts in Environmental Sciences",
    "EPA Emergency Responder Health and Safety Manual - Chapter 9: Chemical and Biological Agents"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/aerosol/"
}