Talk:volatile

I would not consider (chemistry)(informal) explosive to be valid at all... At best the word is commonly misused where the words explosive or flamable should be used -- I guess I should be glad nobody passed the word flamable in the definition... I should thank you all, however, it was a perfect example of why wiki should not be ones only source of information, which is why I was here in the first place ;)

Computing sense
The page is locked. I was going to add a computing sense. A "volatile" variable is one whose memory is immediately updated to reflect any changes in the variable (rather than permitting caching, for instance, which might cause unwanted bugs if, say, the variable was accessed from another thread). It's a keyword in this sense in C++, Java, C#, and probably other languages, but it's also used as an adjective in English discussion of the concept. 86.131.102.228 20:14, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Somebody unlocked the page for me, so I've added this now. Thanks. 86.131.102.228 20:24, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

82.38.204.141: I don't think the supplied definition is correct. The meaning of a volatile variable changes from language to language as described in: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Volatile_variable So the definition of "volatile" changes for this use depending upon the context. There is also a second definition regarding Volatile memory. Which is memory whose state is lost when the computer powers down. As described in: Wikipedia article: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Volatile_memory

Chemistry Definition
I went ahead and removed the "chemistry" definition of "explosive". This is completely invalid. The chemistry definition is "readily evaporates or vaporizes." I changed the "physics" definition description to the more proper "chemistry" (volatility is a chemical property not a physical property.) I added "explosive" to the common definition of potentially violent and removed the contextual qualifier "of a situation" since this is a common definition and can apply to substances as well as situations.
 * I've changed it back. Your edit merged two completely separate meanings.  When someone says, "The substance in this jar is volatile," they do not mean the same thing as a person who says, "The situation in the Middle East is volatile." --EncycloPetey 21:43, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

I am sorry, but explosive is not even an informal chemistry definition. When someone says "the substance in the jar is volatile" to mean explosive, they are using the word incorrectly. Since it is a common mistake you may label it "informal" if you insist on perpetuating a mistake, but do not label it "chemistry." To label it as a chemistry definition is categorically incorrect. I made that change.