Plasma, soil
Plaster

A mixture of lime, sand, cement, and water often used to protect ceilings or walls. The mixture hardens upon drying to form a hard surface in preparation for final finishing.

Plastic limit

One of the Atterberg Limit tests. The water content of an homogenous, fine-grained soil/water mixture where the mixture begins to exhibit plastic behavior upon deformation, as defined by the test method described in ASTM Standard D4318 – 05.
Syn. “lower plastic limit”.
See Mitchell (1993).
See also activity, Atterberg Limits, consistency number, liquid limit, plasticity index, shrinkage limit.

Plasticity

When referring to clay, this is a property where moistened material, when deformed under the application of pressure, will retain the induced deformed shape when the applied pressure is removed.

Plasticity index

The numerical difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit; i.e., the difference between the water content of a fine-grained soil/water mixture at the boundary between its liquid and plastic states and the boundary between its plastic and brittle states, based on tests outlined by Atterberg and standardized by ASTM Standard D4318 – 05.
Syn. Plasticity number.
See Mitchell (1993).
See also activity, Atterberg limits, consistency number, liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit.

Plombièrite
Plug flow reactor

A column or cylindrical reactor used to describe the reaction kinetics within a continuous, flowing system.
Cf., batch reactor, chemostat, continuously stirred tank reactor

Pneumatolitic

A petrologic term that refers to alteration or crystallization involving a gas phase, typically forming from cooling magma.

Pneumoconiosis

Pneumoconiosis is a lung disease caused by the inhalation of (mineral) dusts, characterized by lung inflammation, coughing and development of fibrous connective tissue (fibrosis). Examples of pneumoconiosis include silicosis, caused by respirable silica, and asbestosis, caused by respirable asbestos.
See asbestosis, silicosis

Podoconiosis

Derived from the Greek podo (foot) and konia (dust), and refers to a condition in which some nano-particles enter the bloodstream through skin causing a condition characterized by gross enlargement of areas of the body (mostly limbs) by blockage of the lymphatic system or by a non-parasite immune system response. This condition is similar to elephantiasis, which is caused by parasite blockage of the lymphatic system.
Syn., nonfilarial elephantiasis