>What is known specifically about the IPK is that it exhibits a short-term instability of about 30 μg over a period of about a month in its after-cleaned mass.

>What is known specifically about the IPK is that it exhibits a short-term instability of about 30 μg over a period of about a month in its after-cleaned mass. The precise reason for this short-term instability is not understood but is thought to entail surface effects: microscopic differences between the prototypes' polished surfaces, possibly aggravated by hydrogen absorption due to catalysis of the volatile organic compounds that slowly deposit onto the prototypes as well as the hydrocarbon-based solvents used to clean them.