CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

azeotrope    →   azeotropi

Azeotrope is a mixture of two liquids that boils at constant composition, i.e. the composition of the vapour is the same as that of the liquid. Azeotropes occur because of deviations in Raoult’s law leading to a maximum or minimum in the boiling point - composition diagram. The composition of an azeotrope depends on the pressure.

Arrhenius equation    →   Arheniusova jednadžba

In 1889, Svante Arrhenius explained the variation of rate constants with temperature for several elementary reactions using the relationship

where the rate constant k is the total frequency of collisions between reaction molecules A times the fraction of collisions exp(-E_a/RT) that have an energy that exceeds a threshold activation energy E_a at a temperature of T (in kelvin). R is the universal gas constant.

balance    →   vaga

Balance is an instrument to measure the mass (or weight) of a body. Balance beam type scales are the oldest type and measure weight using a fulcrum or pivot and a lever with the unknown weight placed on one end of the lever, and a counterweight applied to the other end. When the lever is balanced, the unknown weight and the counterweight are equal. The equal-arm balance consists of two identical pans hung from either end of a centrally suspended beam. The unequal-arm balance is made with one arm of the balance much longer than the other.

More modern substitution balances use the substitution principle. In this calibrated weights are removed from the single lever arm to bring the single pan suspended from it into equilibrium with a fixed counter weight. The substitution balance is more accurate than the two-pan device and enables weighing to be carried out more rapidly.

Electromagnetic force restoration balances also use a lever system but a magnetic field is used to generate the force on the opposite end of the lever and balance out the unknown mass. The current used to drive the magnetic coil is proportional to the mass of the object placed on the platform.

coherence    →   koherentnost

If two overlapping light waves are to interfere detectably, the phase difference between them must remain constant with time, i.e. the waves must be coherent.

covalentity    →   kovalentnost

Covalentity is a maximum number of covalent bond that one atom can make, it is equal to the number of hydrogen atoms that are combined with other atoms. It is usually constant.

Bohr magneton    →   Bohrov magneton

Bohr magneton (μ_B) is the atomic unit of magnetic moment, defined as

where h is Planck’s constant, m_e the electron mass, and e the elementary charge. It is the moment associated with a single electron spin.

bomb calorimeter    →   kalorimetrijska bomba

Bomb calorimeter is a type of constant-volume calorimeter used in measuring the heat of combustion of samples which can be burned in oxygen. Four essential parts are required in any bomb calorimeter:

1. a bomb or vessel in which the combustible charges can be burned,
2. a bucket or container for holding the bomb in a measured quantity of water, together with a stirring mechanism,
3. an insulating jacket to protect the bucket from transient thermal stresses during the combustion process, and
4. a thermometer or other sensor for measuring temperature changes within the bucket.

Boyle’s law    →   Boyleov zakon

Boyle’s law (sometimes referred to as the Boyle-Mariott’s law) is the empirical law, exact only for an ideal gas, which states that the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to its pressure at constant temperature.

Charles’ law    →   Charlesov zakon

The volume of a fixed mass of gas at a constant pressure expand by the constant fraction of its volume at 0 °C. For each Celsius or kelvin degree its temperature is raised. For any ideal gas fraction it is approximately 1/273. This can be expressed by the equation

were V° is the volume at 0°C and V is its volume at t°C.

This is equivalent to the statement that the volume of a fixed mass of gas at a constant pressure is proportional to its thermodynamic temperature

This law also know as Gay-Lussac’s law.

An equation similar to the one given above applies to pressures for ideal gases:

chemical potential    →   kemijski potencijal

For a mixture of substances, the chemical potential of constituent B (μ_B) is defined as the partial derivative of the Gibbs energy G with respect to the amount (number of moles) of B, with temperature, pressure, and amounts of all other constituents held constant.

Also called partial molar Gibbs energy. Components are in equilibrium if their chemical potentials are equal.