Volatile
The Encyclopedia of Founding (1892)
A body is termed volatile when it is capable of evaporating, or passing easily into an aeriform state, as alcohol, ether, etc. See VAPOR; ALCOHOL. Vulcanite, or ebonite, is caoutchouc mixed with half its weight of sulphur and hardened by pressure and heating. It is very hard, takes a high polish, and is used extensively for the manufacture of buttons, knife-handles, and combs. See INDIA-RUBBER. Wages Table. CALCULATED ON A SCALE OF TEN HOURS' LABOR PER DAY; THE TIME, IN HOURS AND DAYS, IS NOTED IN THE LEFT-HAND COLUMN, AND THE AMOUNT OF WAGES UNDER THE RESPECTIVE HEADINGS AS NOTED BELOW. Hours. $1.00 $1.50 $2.00 $2.50 $3.00 $3.50 $4.00 $4.50 $5.00 $5.50 $6.00 1/2 .01 .01 1/4 .01 2/3 .2 .02 1/2 .03 .03 1/2 .03 3/4 .04 1/2 .04 1/2 .04 1/2 .05 1 .01 2/3 .02 1/2 .03 1/3 .4 1/6 .05 .06 06 2/3 .07 1/2 .08 1/3 .09 1/6 .10 2 .03 1/3 .05 .06 2/3 .8 1/3 .10 .11 2/3 .13 1/3 .15 .16 2/3 .18 1/3 .20 3 .05 .07 1/2 .10 .12 1/2 .15 .17 1/2 .20 .22 1/2 .22 1/2 .25 .27 1/2 .30 4 .06 2/3 .10 .13 1/2 .16 2/3 .20 .23 1/3 .26 2/3 .30 .33 1/3 .36 2/3 .40 5 .08 1/3 .12 1/2 .16 2/3 .21 .25 .29 1/6 .33 1/3 .37 1/2 .41 2/3 .46 .50 6 .10 .15 .20 .25 .30 .35 .40 .45 .50 .55 .60 7 .11 2/3 .17 1/2 .23 1/3 .29 1/2 .35 .41 .46 2/3 .52 1/2 .58 1/3 .64 1/6 .70 8 .13 1/3 .20 .26 2/3 .33 1/3 .40 .46 2/3 .53 1/3 .60 .66 2/3 .73 1/3 .80 9 .15 .22 1/2 .30 .37 1/2 .45 .52 1/2 .60 .67 1/2 .75 .82 1/2 .90 Days. 1 .16 2/3 .25 .33 1/3 .50 .58 1/3 .66 2/3 .75 .83 1/3 .91 2/3 1.00 2 .33 1/3 .50 .66 2/3 .83 1/3 1.00 1.16 2/3 1.33 1/3 1.50 1.66 2/3 1.83 1/3 2.00 3 .50 .75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 4 .66 2/3 1.00 1.33 1/3 1.66 2/3 2.00 2.33 1/3 2.66 2/3 3.00 3.33 1/3 3.66 2/3 4.00 5 .83 1/3 1.25 1.66 2/3 2.08 1/3 2.50 2.91 2/3 3.33 1/3 3.75 4.16 2/3 4.58 1/3 5.00 6 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 Hours. $6.50 $7.00 $7.50 $8.00 $9.00 $10.00 $11.00 $12.00 $13.00 $14.00 $15.00 1/2 .05 1/2 .06 .06 1/4 .06 2/3 .07 1/2 .08 1/3 .09 .10 .11 .12 .12 1/2 1 .11 .11 2/3 .12 1/2 .13 1/3 .15 .16 2/3 .18 1/3 .20 .22 .23 1/2 .25 2 .21 2/3 .23 1/3 .25 .26 2/3 .30 .33 1/3 .36 2/3 .40 .43 1/3 .46 2/3 .50 3 .32 1/2 .35 .37 1/2 .40 .45 .50 .55 .60 .65 .70 .75 4 .43 1/3 .46 2/3 .50 .53 1/3 .60 .66 2/3 .73 1/3 .80 .86 2/3 .93 1/3 1.00 5 .54 1/6 .58 1/3 .62 1/2 .66 2/3 .75 .83 1/3 .91 2/3 1.00 1.08 1/3 1.16 2/3 1.25 6 .65 .70 .75 .80 .90 1.00 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 7 .76 .81 2/3 .87 1/2 .93 1/3 1.05 1.16 2/3 1.28 1/3 1.40 1.52 1.63 1/3 1.75 8 .86 2/3 .93 1/3 1.00 1.06 2/3 1.20 1.33 1/3 1.46 2/3 1.60 1.73 1/3 1.86 2/3 2.00 9 .97 1/2 1.05 1.12 1/2 1.20 1.35 1.50 1.65 1.80 1.95 2.10 2.25 Days. 1 1.08 1/3 1.16 2/3 1.25 1.33 1/3 1.50 1.66 2/3 1.83 1/3 2.00 2.17 2.33 1/3 2.50 2 2.16 2/3 2.33 1/3 2.50 2.66 2/3 3.00 3.33 1/3 3.66 2/3 4.00 4.34 4.66 2/3 5.00 3 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.51 6.99 2/3 7.50 4 4.33 1/3 4.66 2/3 5.00 5.33 1/3 6.00 6.66 2/3 7.33 1/3 8.00 8.68 9.33 10.00 5 5.41 2/3 5.83 1/3 6.25 6.66 2/3 7.00 8.33 1/3 9.16 2/3 10.00 10.85 11.66 1/3 12.50 6 6.50 7.00 7.50 8.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 If the desired number of days or amount of wages is not in the table, double or treble any suitable number of days or amount of money, as the case may be, until you obtain the desired number of days and the wages to correspond.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The chemical definition given by the Encyclopedia of Founding in 1892 "capable of evaporating, or passing easily into an aeriform state" is still exactly what a chemist means by volatile, though the word now carries senses the 1892 writer could not have: "volatile organic compounds" (VOCs) are regulated as pollutants and indoor-air hazards, and in computing "volatile memory" means storage that loses its contents when the power goes off. The stray material printed with the entry has aged faster than the definition: the ebonite once used for buttons, knife-handles and combs has been almost wholly displaced by synthetic plastics, and the wages table's assumption of "ten hours' labor per day" was overtaken in the United States by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set the 40-hour week as the standard beyond which overtime is owed. The top rate the table imagines, $15 a day, is less than a modern American worker earns in two hours at the federal minimum wage.
Written for this edition, 2026.