Bleibarkeit

Bleibarkeit (from bleiben, to stay) is a term used in German-language discourse to describe the capacity of something to remain in a certain state, condition, or presence over time or under processing. It denotes persistence, durability, or stability of a property, effect, or identity under defined conditions. The notion is deliberately broad and is defined operationally per field.

In materials science and engineering, Bleibarkeit often refers to the resistance of a material, coating, or dye to change or degrade. Examples include the Bleibarkeit of color (colorfastness) under light or washing, the corrosion Bleibarkeit of a metal coating, or the adhesive Bleibarkeit of a surface after exposure to stress. In chemistry and biology, Bleibarkeit can denote persistence of a marker, metabolite, or trait in a system.

In information technology and archival science, Bleibarkeit is used to describe data longevity and the ability of storage media to preserve information over time, including resistance to decay, bit-rot, or format obsolescence. In ecology or medicine, it can refer to the persistence of a species, an infection, or a therapeutic effect under environmental or treatment conditions.

Measurement is context-specific and may involve aging tests, durability assays, shelf-life studies, or persistence analyses. Important caveats include varying definitions across disciplines and the lack of a universal unit; Bleibarkeit must be operationally defined for each study.