Editing Soot (section)

===Definition===
Among scientists, exact definitions for soot vary, depending partly on their field.<ref name ="Sipkens2023"/> For example, [[Atmospheric science|atmospheric scientists]] may use a different definition compared to [[Toxicology|toxicologists]]. Soot's definition can also vary across time, and from paper to paper even among scientists in the same field. A common feature of the definitions is that soot is composed largely of carbon based particles resulting from the incomplete burning  of [[hydrocarbon]]s or organic fuel such as wood. Some note that soot may be formed by other high temperature processes, not just by burning.<ref name ="Sipkens2023"/> Soot typically takes an [[aerosol]] form when first created. It tends to eventually settle onto surfaces, though some parts of it may be decomposed while still airborne. In some definitions, soot is defined purely as [[carbonaceous]] particles, but in others it is defined to include the whole ensemble of particles resulting from partial combustion of [[organic matter]] or [[fossil fuels]] - as such it can include non carbon elements like [[Sulfur|sulphur]] and even traces of metal. In many definitions, soot is assumed to be black, but in some definitions it can be composed partly or even mainly of [[brown carbon]], and so can also be medium or even light gray in colour.<ref name ="Sipkens2023">{{cite journal | author = Sipkens ''et all'' | title =Overview of methods to characterize the mass, size, and morphology of soot | journal = [[Journal of Aerosol Science]] | volume = 173| pages =  | date = 2023| pmid = | doi =10.1016/j.jaerosci.2023.106211  | bibcode =2023JAerS.17306211S | doi-access = free}}</ref><ref name="Rituraj2017">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rituraj N , Kumar TA | title =The Toxicological Mechanisms of Environmental Soot (Black Carbon) and Carbon Black: Focus on Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Pathways | journal = [[Frontiers in Immunology]] | volume =8 | date =2017  | page =763 | pmid = 28713383| doi =10.3389/fimmu.2017.00763  | doi-access =free | pmc =5492873 }}</ref><ref name = "Petzold2013">{{cite journal | author = Petzold ''et all''  | title = Recommendations for reporting "black carbon" measurements | journal = [[Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]] | volume =13 | pages =  8365–8379| date =2013  | issue = 16 | pmid = | doi =10.5194/acp-13-8365-2013  | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2013ACP....13.8365P | hdl = 20.500.11850/71581 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref name = "long2013">{{cite journal | vauthors = Long CM, Nascarella MA, Valberg PA | title = Carbon black vs. black carbon and other airborne materials containing elemental carbon: physical and chemical distinctions| journal = [[Environmental Pollution (journal)|Environmental Pollution]] | volume =181 | pages =  271–286| date = 2013 | pmid = 23850403| doi =10.1016/j.envpol.2013.06.009 | bibcode = 2013EPoll.181..271L|quote = "the terms carbon black and soot have often been used interchangeably ...   other terms like soot, elemental carbon, and graphitic carbon continue to be used synonymously with black carbon"
| doi-access = free}}</ref>