porösen

Porösen is the inflected form of the German adjective porös, meaning porous. It describes materials or surfaces that contain a network of voids or pores. The porosity of a material is the fraction of its volume that is void space and is usually expressed as a percentage. Porous materials can have open porosity, where interconnected pores allow fluids to flow, or closed porosity, where pores are isolated.

Porosity is relevant in geology, engineering, and materials science. The structure of pores influences how easily liquids or gases move through the material, how much it can store (capacitance) and its mechanical strength. The term also supports discussions of filtration, insulation, moisture control, and energy storage.

Pore sizes are often categorized as microporous (<2 nanometers), mesoporous (2–50 nanometers), and macroporous (>50 nanometers). The distribution and connectivity of pores, sometimes described by porosity, pore-size distribution, and tortuosity, determine permeability and adsorption capacity. Materials can exhibit varying degrees of open or closed porosity, affecting fluid transport and storage.

Common porous materials include ceramics, porous rocks like sandstone, wood, foams, activated carbon, and various membranes. Porous metals and polymers are engineered for filtration, catalysis, energy storage, insulation, and biomedical implants.

Measurement methods include Archimedes principle for apparent density, mercury intrusion porosimetry, gas adsorption (BET method), and computed tomography. Key properties are open porosity, total porosity, pore connectivity, and permeability.

In practical terms, porosity affects groundwater storage, soil fertility, building material durability, and the performance of filters and batteries. The term porösen is used primarily in German-language texts as the inflected form of porös.