text: In igneous petrology the term more specifically refers to the volatile components of magma (mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide) that affect the appearance and explosivity of volcanoes. Volatiles in a magma with a high viscosity, generally felsic with a higher silica (SiO) content, tend to produce eruptions that are explosive eruption. Volatiles in a magma with a low viscosity, generally mafic with a lower silica content, tend to vent as effusive eruption and can give rise to a lava fountain.