CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

fuel cell    →   gorivi članak

Fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. It is different from a battery in that the energy conversion continues as long as fuel and oxidising agent are fed to the fuel cell; that is, in principle indefinitely. (A battery is manufactured with a limited amount of chemicals, and it is exhausted when all the chemicals have reacted.) It is a galvanic cell where spontaneous chemical reactions occur at the electrodes. The fuel is oxidised at the anode, and the oxidising agent (almost always oxygen or air) is reduced at the cathode. Presently, the most commonly used fuel is hydrogen. More conventional fuels (e.g., petrol or natural gas) must be converted (reformed) into hydrogen before they can be utilised in a fuel cell.

Some fuel cells employ an aqueous solution as electrolyte, that can be either acidic or basic (alkaline), or an ion-exchange membrane soaked in aqueous solution can act as the electrolyte. These fuel cells operate at relatively low temperatures (from room temperature to not much above the boiling point of water). Some fuel cells employ molten salts (especially carbonates) as electrolytes and have to operate at temperatures of several hundred degrees centigrade (Celsius). Others employ ionically conductive solids as electrolyte and must operate close to 1 000 °C.

glutamine    →   glutamin

Glutamine is neutral amino acids with polar side chains. It serves as an important carrier of ammonia and contributes it to the formation of urea and purines. Glutamine is not recognized as an essential amino acid but may become conditionally essential in certain situations, including intensive athletic training or certain gastrointestinal disorders. It is synthesized by the enzyme glutamine synthetase from glutamate and ammonia.

• Abbreviations: Gln, Q
• IUPAC name: 2,5-diamino-5-oxopentanoic acid
• Molecular formula: C₅H₁₀N₂O₃
• Molecular weight: 146.14 g/mol

soap    →   sapun

Soap is a salt of a fatty acid. For example, sodium stearate is a soap made by neutralizing stearic acid. Commercial soaps are mixtures of fatty acid salts.

surface tension    →   površinska napetost

Surface tension (σ) is a property of liquids arising from unbalanced molecular cohesive forces at or near the surface, as a result of which the surface tends to contract and has properties resembling those of a stretched elastic membrane. As a result of which the surface tends to contract and has properties resembling those of a stretched elastic membrane.

toxic chemical    →   bojni otrov

Toxic chemical means any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation, or permanent harm to humans or animals. This includes all such chemicals, regardless of their origin or of their method of production, and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in munitions or elsewhere.

transmittance    →   transmitancija

Transmittance (τ) is the ratio of the radiant or luminous flux at a given wavelength that is transmitted to that of the incident radiation. Also called transmission factor.

glass electrode    →   staklena elektroda

Glass electrode is a hydrogen-ion responsive electrode usually consisting of a bulb, or other suitable form, of special glass attached to a stem of high resistance glass complete with internal reference electrode and internal filling solution system. Glass electrode is also available for the measurement of sodium ions.

The glass electrode, which consists of a thin wall glass bulb, has an extremely high electrical resistance. The membrane of a typical glass electrode (with a thickness of 0.03 mm to 0.1 mm) has an electrical resistance of 30 MΩ to 600 MΩ. The surface of a glass membrane must be hydrated before it will function as a pH electrode. When a glass surface is immersed in an aqueous solution then a thin solvated layer (gel layer) is formed on the glass surface in which the glass structure is softer. This applies to both the outside and inside of the glass membrane.

The simplest explanation for the working of the thin glass electrode is that the glass acts as a weak acid (Glass-H).

The hydrogen ion activity of the internal solution is held constant. When a solution of different pH from the inside comes in contact with the outside of the glass membrane, the glass is either deprotonated or protonated relative to the inside of the glass. The difference in pH between solutions inside and outside the thin glass membrane creates electromotive force in proportion to this difference in pH.

halocarbon    →   halogenirani ugljikovodik

Halocarbon is a compound containing no elements other than carbon, one or more halogens, and sometimes hydrogen. The simplest are compounds such as tetrachloromethane (CCl₄), tetrabromomethane (CBr₄), etc. The lower members of the various homologous series are used as refrigerants, propellant gases, fireextinguishing agents, and blowing agents for urethane foams. When polymerized, they yield plastics characterized by extreme chemical resistance, high electrical resistivity, and good heat resistance.

hemiacetal    →   poluacetal

Hemiacetals are organic compounds having the general formula R₂C(OH)OR’ (R’ ≠ H), derived from aldehydes or ketones by formal addition of an alcohol to the carbonyl group. Hemiacetals are generally unstable compounds. In some cases however, stable cyclic hemiacetals can be readily formed, especially when 5- and 6-membered rings are possible. In this case an intramolecular OH group reacts with the carbonyl group. Glucose and many other aldoses exist as cyclic hemiacetals whereas fructose and similar ketoses exist as cyclic hemiketals. Originally, the term was confined to derivatives of aldehydes (one R = H), but it now applies equally to derivatives of ketones (neither R = H).

hexagonal lattice    →   heksagonska rešetka

Hexagonal lattice has lattice points at the twelve corners of the hexagonal prism and at the centers of the two hexagonal faces of the unit cell. It has unit cell vectors a=b≠c and interaxial angles α=β=90° and γ=120°.