Parts-per notation

One part per trillion (1 ppt) is a proportion equivalent to one-twentieth of a drop of water diluted into an Olympic-size swimming pool.

In science and engineering, the parts-per notation is a set of pseudo units to describe small values of miscellaneous dimensionless quantities, e.g. mole fraction or mass fraction. Since these fractions are quantity-per-quantity measures, they are pure numbers with no associated units of measurement. Commonly used are ppm (parts-per-million, 10^–6), ppb (parts-per-billion, 10^–9), ppt (parts-per-trillion, 10^–12) and ppq (parts-per-quadrillion, 10^-15).

Overview

Parts-per notation is often used describing dilute solutions in chemistry, for instance, the relative abundance of dissolved minerals or pollutants in water. The unit “1 ppm” can be used for a mass fraction if a water-borne pollutant is present at one-millionth of a gram per gram of sample solution.

Similarly, parts-per notation is used also in physics and engineering to express the value of various proportional phenomena. For instance, a special metal alloy might expand 1.2 micrometers per meter of length for every degree Celsius and this would be expressed as “α = 1.2 ppm/°C.” Parts-per notation is also employed to denote the change, stability, or uncertainty in measurements. For instance, the accuracy of land-survey distance measurements when using a laser rangefinder might be 1 millimeter per kilometer of distance; this could be expressed as “Accuracy = 1 ppm.”^[1]

Parts-per notations are all dimensionless quantities: in mathematical expressions, the units of measurement always cancel. In fractions like “2 nanometers per meter” (2 nm/m = 2 nano = 2 × 10⁻⁹ = 2 ppb = 2 × 0.000000001) so the quotients are pure-number coefficients with positive values less than 1. When parts-per notations, including the percent symbol (%), are used in regular prose (as opposed to mathematical expressions), they are still pure-number dimensionless quantities. However, they generally take the literal “parts per” meaning of a comparative ratio (e.g., “2 ppb” would generally be interpreted as “two parts in a billion parts”).^[2]

Parts-per notations may be expressed in terms of any unit of the same measure. For instance, the coefficient of thermal expansion of a certain brass alloy, α = 18.7 ppm/°C, may be expressed as 18.7 (µm/m)/°C, or as 18.7 (µin/in)/°C; the numeric value representing a relative proportion does not change with the adoption of a different unit of measure.^[3] Similarly, a metering pump that injects a trace chemical into the main process line at the proportional flow rate Q_p = 125 ppm, is doing so at a rate that may be expressed in a variety of volumetric units, including 125 µL/L, 125 µgal/gal, 125 cm³/m³, etc.

Ppm is also a measure of the chemical shift in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and represents difference of the frequency in parts per million from the reference frequency (signal).

Parts-per expressions

• One part per hundred is generally represented by the percent (%) symbol and denotes one part per 100 parts, one part in 10², and a value of 1 × 10⁻². This is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into 5 milliliters (one spoon-full), or about fifteen minutes out of one day.

• One part per thousand should generally spelled out in full and not as “ppt” (which is usually understood to represent “parts per trillion”). It may also be denoted by the permille (‰) symbol. Note however, that specific disciplines such as the analysis of ocean water salt concentration and educational exercises occasionally use the “ppt” abbreviation. “One part per thousand” denotes one part per 1000 parts, one part in 10³, and a value of 1 × 10⁻³. This is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into 50 milliliters (ten spoon-fulls), or about one and a half minutes out of one day.

• One part per ten thousand is denoted by the permyriad (‱) symbol. It is used almost exclusively in finance, where it is known as the basis point and is typically used to denote fractional changes in percentages. For instance, a change in an interest rate from 5.15% to 5.35% would be denoted as a change of 20 basis points or 20 ‱. Although rarely used in science (ppm is typically used instead), one permyriad has an unambiguous value of one part per 10,000 parts, one part in 10⁴, and a value of 1 × 10⁻⁴. This is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into half a liter, or about nine seconds out of one day.

• One part per million (ppm) denotes one part per 1,000,000 parts, one part in 10⁶, and a value of 1 × 10⁻⁶. This is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into 50 liters (roughly the fuel tank capacity of a compact car), or about 32 seconds out of a year.

• One part per billion (ppb) denotes one part per 1,000,000,000 parts, one part in 10⁹, and a value of 1 × 10⁻⁹. This is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into 250 chemical drums (50 m³), or about three seconds out of a century.

• One part per trillion (ppt) denotes one part per 1,000,000,000,000 parts, one part in 10¹², and a value of 1 × 10⁻¹². This is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into 20 Olympic-size swimming pools (50,000 m³), or about three seconds out of every hundred thousand years.

• One part per quadrillion (ppq) denotes one part per 1,000,000,000,000,000 parts, one part in 10¹⁵, and a value of 1 × 10⁻¹⁵. This is equivalent to 1 drop of water diluted into a cube of water measuring approximately 368 meters on a side (fifty million cubic meters, which is a cube about as tall as the Empire State Building's 102 stories), or two and a half minutes out of the age of the Earth (4.5 billion years). Although relatively uncommon in analytic chemistry, measurements at the ppq level are performed.^[4]

Criticism

Although the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (an international standards organization known also by its French-language initials BIPM) recognizes the use of parts-per notation, it is not formally part of the International System of Units (SI).^[2] Note, that although “percent” (%) is not formally part of the SI, both the BIPM and the ISO, take the position that “in mathematical expressions, the internationally recognized symbol % (percent) may be used with the SI to represent the number 0.01” for dimensionless quantities.^[2][5] According to IUPAP, “a continued source of annoyance to unit purists has been the continued use of percent, ppm, ppb, and ppt.”^[6]. Although SI-compliant expressions should be used as an alternative, the parts-per notation remains nevertheless widely used in technical disciplines. The main problems with the parts-per notation are:

Long and short scales

Because the named numbers starting with a “billion” have different values in different countries, the BIPM suggests avoiding the use of “ppb” and “ppt” to prevent misunderstanding. In the English language, named numbers have a consistent meaning only up to “million”. Starting with “billion”, there are two numbering conventions: the “long” and “short” scales, and “billion” can mean either 10⁹ or 10¹². The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) takes the stringent position, stating that “the language-dependent terms [ . . . ] are not acceptable for use with the SI to express the values of quantities.”^[7]

Thousand vs trillion

Although "ppt” usually means "parts per trillion", it occasionally means “parts per thousand”. Unless the meaning of "ppt" is defined explicitly, it has to be guessed from the context.

Mass fraction vs mole fraction

Another problem of the parts-per notation is that it may refer to either a mass fraction or a mole fraction. Since it is usually not stated which quantity is used, it is better to write the unit as kg/kg, or mol/mol (even though they are all dimensionless).^[8] For example, the conversion factor between a mass fraction of 1 ppb and a mole fraction of 1 ppb is about 4.7 for the greenhouse gas CFC-11 in air. The usage is generally quite fixed inside most specific branches of science, leading some researchers to draw the conclusion that their own usage (mass/mass, mol/mol or others) is the only correct one. This, in turn, leads them to not specify their usage in their publications, and others may therefore misinterpret their results. For example, electrochemists often use volume/volume, while chemical engineers may use mass/mass as well as volume/volume. Many academic papers of otherwise excellent level fail to specify their usage of the part-per notation. The difference between expressing concentrations as mass/mass or volume/volume is quite significant when dealing with gases and it is very important to specify which is being used.

SI-compliant expressions

SI-compliant units that can be used as alternatives are shown in the chart below. Expressions that the BIPM does not explicitly recognize as being suitable for denoting dimensionless quantities with the SI are shown in underlined green text.

NOTATIONS FOR DIMENSIONLESS QUANTITIES
Measure	SI units	Named parts-per ratio	Parts-per abbreviation or symbol	Value in scientific notation
A strain of…	2 cm/m	2 parts per hundred	2% [9]	2 × 10−2
A sensitivity of…	2 mV/V	2 parts per thousand	2 ‰	2 × 10−3
A sensitivity of…	0.2 mV/V	2 parts per ten thousand	2 ‱	2 × 10−4
A sensitivity of…	2 µV/V	2 parts per million	2 ppm	2 × 10−6
A sensitivity of…	2 nV/V	2 parts per billion	2 ppb	2 × 10−9
A sensitivity of…	2 pV/V	2 parts per trillion	2 ppt	2 × 10−12
A mass fraction of…	2 mg/kg	2 parts per million	2 ppm	2 × 10−6
A mass fraction of…	2 µg/kg	2 parts per billion	2 ppb	2 × 10−9
A mass fraction of…	2 ng/kg	2 parts per trillion	2 ppt	2 × 10−12
A mass fraction of…	2 pg/kg	2 parts per quadrillion	2 ppq	2 × 10−15
A volume fraction of…	5.2 µL/L	5.2 parts per million	5.2 ppm	5.2 × 10−6
A mole fraction of…	5.24 µmol/mol	5.24 parts per million	5.24 ppm	5.24 × 10−6
A mole fraction of…	5.24 nmol/mol	5.24 parts per billion	5.24 ppb	5.24 × 10−9
A mole fraction of…	5.24 pmol/mol	5.24 parts per trillion	5.24 ppt	5.24 × 10−12
A stability of…	1 (µA/A)/min.	1 part per million per min.	1 ppm/min.	1 × 10−6/min.
A change of…	5 nΩ/Ω	5 parts per billion	5 ppb	5 × 10−9
An uncertainty of…	9 µg/kg	9 parts per billion	9 ppb	9 × 10−9
A shift of…	1 nm/m	1 part per billion	1 ppb	1 × 10−9
A strain of…	1 µm/m	1 part per million	1 ppm	1 × 10−6
A temperature coefficient of…	0.3 (µHz/Hz)/°C	0.3 part per million per °C	0.3 ppm/°C	0.3 × 10−6/°C
A frequency change of…	0.35 × 10−9 ƒ	0.35 part per billion	0.35 ppb	0.35 × 10−9

Note that the notations in the “SI units” column above are all dimensionless quantities; that is, the units of measurement cancel in expressions like “1 nm/m” (1 nm/m = 1 nano = 1 × 10⁻⁹) so the quotients are pure-number coefficients with values less than 1.

Uno

Because of the cumbersome nature of expressing certain dimensionless quantities per SI guidelines, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) in 1999 proposed the adoption of the special name “uno” (symbol: U) to represent the number 1 in dimensionless quantities.^[6] This symbol is not to be confused with the always-italicized symbol for the variable ‘uncertainty’ (symbol: U). This unit name uno and its symbol could be used in combination with the SI prefixes to express the values of dimensionless quantities which are much less—or even greater—than one.^[10]

Common parts-per notations in terms of the uno are given in the table below.

IUPAP’s “uno” proposal

Coefficient	Parts-per example	Uno equiv.	Symbol form	Value of quantity
10−2	2%	2 centiuno	2 cU	2 × 10−2
10−3	2 ‰	2 milliuno	2 mU	2 × 10−3
10−6	2 ppm	2 microuno	2 µU	2 × 10−6
10−9	2 ppb	2 nanouno	2 nU	2 × 10−9
10−12	2 ppt	2 picouno	2 pU	2 × 10−12

In 2004, a report to the International Committee for Weights and Measures (known also by its French-language initials CIPM) stated that response to the proposal of the uno “had been almost entirely negative” and the principal proponent “recommended dropping the idea.”^[11] To date, the uno has not been adopted by any standards organization and it appears unlikely it will ever become an officially sanctioned way to express low-value (high-ratio) dimensionless quantities. The proposal was instructive, however, as to the perceived shortcomings of the current options for denoting dimensionless quantities.

Improper applications of parts-per notation

Parts-per notation may properly be used only to express true dimensionless quantities; that is, the units of measurement must cancel in expressions like "1 mg/kg" so that the quotients are pure numbers with values less than 1. Mixed-unit quantities such as "a radon concentration of 15 pCi/L" are not dimensionless quantities and may not be expressed using any form of parts-per notation, such as "15 ppt". Other examples of measures that are not dimensionless quantities are as follows:

• Particulate matter in the air: 50 µg/m³; not 50 ppb. Also see air measurements, below.
• A stepper motor/gear system that produces a motion of 1 µm/pulse; not 1 ppm
• Mercury vapor concentration in air: 0.6 ng/L; not 0.6 ppt

Note however, that it is not uncommon to express aqueous concentrations—particularly in drinking-water reports intended for the general public—using parts-per notation (2.1 ppm, 0.8 ppb, etc.) and further, for those reports to state that the notations denote milligrams per liter or micrograms per liter. Whereas "2.1 mg/L" is technically not a dimensionless quantity on the face of it, it is well understood in scientific circles that one liter of water has a mass of one kilogram and that "2.1 mg/kg" (2.1 ppm) is the true measure. The goal in all technical writing (including drinking-water reports for the general public) is to clearly communicate to the intended audience with minimal confusion. Drinking water is intuitively a volumetric quantity in the public’s mind so measures of contamination expressed on a per-liter basis are considered to be easier to grasp. Still, it is technically possible, for example, to "dissolve" more than one liter of a very hydrophilic chemical in 1 liter of water; parts-per notation would be confusing when describing its solubility in water (greater than a million parts per million), so one would simply state the volume (or mass) that will dissolve into a liter, instead.

When reporting air-borne rather than water-borne densities, a slightly different convention is used since air is approximately 1000 times less dense than water. In water, 1 µg/m³ is roughly equivalent to parts-per-trillion whereas in air, it is roughly equivalent to parts-per-billion. Note also, that in the case of air, this convention is much less accurate. Whereas one liter of water is almost exactly 1 kg, one cubic meter of air is often taken as 1.143 kg—much less accurate, but still close enough for many practical uses.^{[citation needed]}

See also

International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International System of Units (SI) Long and short scales Mass fraction Mole fraction

Names of large numbers National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Percentage (%) Permille (‰) Permyriad (‱) (Basis point) SI prefixes

References

1. ^ This is a simplified explanation. Laser rangefinders typically have a measurement granularity of one to ten millimeters; thus, the complete specification for distance measurement accuracy might read as follows:  Accuracy: ±(1 mm + 1 ppm). Consequently, a distance measurement of only a few meters would still have an accuracy of ±1 mm in this example. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} BIPM: 5.3.7 Stating values of dimensionless quantities, or quantities of dimension one 
3. ^ In the particular case of coefficient of thermal expansion, the change to inches (one of the U.S. customary units) is typically also accompanied by a change to degrees Fahrenheit. Since a Fahrenheit-sized interval of temperature is only ⁵⁄₉ that of a Celsius-sized interval, the value is typically expressed as 10.4 (µin/in)/°F rather than 18.7 (µin/in)/°C. 
4. ^ Measurements of dioxin are routinely made at the sub-ppq level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA) currently sets a hard limit of 30 ppq for dioxin in drinking water but once recommended a voluntary limit of 0.013 ppq. Also, radioactive contaminants in drinking water, which are quantified by measuring their radiation, are often reported in terms of ppq. The ability to chemically detect contaminants at this level is truly an impressive feat; 0.013 ppq is equivalent to the thickness of a sheet of paper versus a journey of 146,000 trips around the world. 
5. ^ Quantities and units - Part 0: General principles, ISO 31-0:1992. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Report to the 1999 IUPAP General Assembly: Report on recent Committee activities on behalf of IUPAP by Brian W Petley September 1998 
7. ^ NIST: Rules and Style Conventions for Expressing Values of Quantities: 7.10.3 ppm, ppb, and ppt 
8. ^ Schwartz and Warneck (1995). "Units for use in atmospheric chemistry". Pure Appl. Chem 67: 1377–1406. http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/1995/pdf/6708x1377.pdf. Retrieved March 9, 2011. 
9. ^ Compliance with the SI regarding the percent symbol (%) is limited in this chart. According to the BIPM’s SI brochure: Subsection 5.3.3, Formatting the value of a quantity, a space is always used to separate the unit symbol from the numeric value. Notable exceptions are the unit symbols for degree, minute, and second for plane angle, °, ′, and ″ (e.g., a latitude of 47° 38′ 8.8″). However, according to 5.3.7 Stating values of dimensionless quantities, or quantities of dimension one, the exception does not apply to the “%” symbol; it states as follows: “When it [the percent symbol] is used, a space separates the number and the symbol %.” This practice has not been well adopted with regard to the % symbol, is contrary to Wikipedia’s Manual of Style, and is not observed here. 
10. ^ Certain mathematical functions can produce proportional quantities with values greater than 1. 
11. ^ Report of the 16th meeting (13–14 May 2004), by the Consultative Committee for Units, to the International Committee for Weights and Measures, of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (1.1 MB PDF, here). 

External links

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