Particulate Matter Articles from SEXGRINDER.COM Free Article Directory

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Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM) or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be man made or natural. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe, anthropogenic aerosols—those made by human activities—currently account for about 10 percent of the total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease, altered lung function and lung cancer.

Among the most common categorizations imposed on particulates are those with respect to size, referred to as fractions. As particles are often non-spherical (for example, Asbestos fibers), there are many definitions of particle size. The most widely used definition is the aerodynamic diameter. A particle with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 micrometers moves in a gas like a sphere of unit density (1 gram per cubic centimeter) with a diameter of 10 micrometers. PM diameters range from less than 10 nanometers to more than 10 micrometers. These dimensions represent the continuum from a few molecules up to the size where particles can no longer be carried by a gas.

The notation PM₁₀ is used to describe particles of 10 micrometers or less and PM_2.5 represents particles less than 2.5 micrometers in aerodynamic diameter. ^[1].

But because no sampler is perfect in the sense that no particle larger than its cutoff diameter passes the inlet, all reference methods allow a high margin of error. These are also sometimes referred to with other equivalent numeric values. Everything below 100&_160;nm, down to the size of individual molecules is classified as ultrafine particles (UFP or UP)^[2].

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