Impurity

Name:
Impurity
Detailed information:
The presence of one substance in another, often in such low concentration that it cannot be measured quantitatively by ordinary analytical methods. It is impossible to prepare an ideally pure substance. In certain metal crystal lattices, foreign substances can exist in as low a concentration as one-millionth of an atomic percent. For example, arsenic atoms are present in germanium crystals in this percentage; this fact is largely responsible for the semiconducting properties of germanium. Here the impurity is beneficial, but often it is detrimental, for example, in graphite used as a moderator in nuclear reactors, and in many metallic catalysts. In the air, trace amounts of sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide are potentially dangerous impurities in concentration of 5 ppm of sulfur dioxide and 50 ppm of carbon monoxide.See purity; chemical; Trace Element; Air Pollution; Semiconductor; Purification.