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Glossary:Porosity

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  1. The percentage of the rock volume that is not rock grains and could be occupied by fluids. Pores may or may not be connected.
  2. The volume percentage of the total bulk not occupied by solid particles.


Also

Porosity is an intrinsic property of every material. It refers to the amount of empty space within a given material. In a soil or rock the porosity (empty space) exists between the grains of minerals. In a material like gravel the grains are large and there is lots of empty space between them since they don’t fit together very well. However, in a material like a gravel, sand, and clay mixture the porosity is much less as the smaller grains fill the spaces. The amount of water a material can hold is directly related to the porosity since water will try and fill the empty spaces in a material. We measure porosity by the percentage of empty space that exists within a particular porous media.

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