CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

amount fraction    →   količinski udio

Amount fraction, x_A, (y for gaseous mixtures) is the ratio of the amount of substance (number of moles) of substance A to the total amount of substance in a mixture.

analytical balance    →   analitička vaga

Analytical balances are instruments used for precise determining mass of matter. Analytical balances are sensitive and expensive instruments, and upon their accuracy and precision the accuracy of analysis result depends. The most widely used type of analytical balances are balances with a capacity of 100 g and a sensitivity of 0.1 mg. Not one quantitative chemical analysis is possible without usage of balances, because, regardless of which analytical method is being used, there is always a need for weighing a sample for analysis and the necessary quantity of reagents for solution preparation.

The working part of the balance is enclosed in a glass-fitted case. The baseplate is usually of black glass or black slate. The beam has agate knife-edges at its extremes, supporting stirrups from which balance pans are suspended. Another agate or steel knife-edge is fixed exactly in the middle of the beam on its bottom side. This knife-edge faces downwards and supports the beam. When not in use and during loading or unloading of the pans, the balance should be arrested.

The principle of operation of a modern laboratory balance bears some resemblance to its predecessor - the equal arm balance. The older instrument opposed the torque exerted by an unknown mass on one side of a pivot to that of an adjustable known weight on the other side. When the pointer returned to the center position, the torques must be equal, and the weight was determined by the position of the moving weights.

Modern electronic laboratory balances work on the principle of magnetic force restoration. In this system, the force exerted by the object being weighed is lifted by an electromagnet. A detector measures the current required to oppose the downward motion of the weight in the magnetic field.

caramel    →   karamel

Caramel is a dark brown substance made from sugar, used to colour and flavour food, added to some liqueur as a colouring agent.

carbonization    →   karbonizacija

Carbonization begins when you heat organic substances like wood, sugar or meat with no presence of air; they go black because of secreted carbon.

base    →   baza

Historically, base is a substance that yields an OH - ion when it dissociates in solution, resulting in a pH>7. In the Brønsted definition, a base is a substance capable of accepting a proton in any type of reaction. The more general definition, due to G.N. Lewis, classifies any chemical species capable of donating an electron pair as a base. Typically, bases are metal oxides, hydroxides, or compounds (such as ammonia) that give hydroxide ions in aqueous solution.

battery    →   baterija

Battery a device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy. The process underlying the operation of a battery involves a chemical reaction in which electrons are transferred from one chemical species to another. This process is carried out in two half-reactions, one that involves the loss of electrons and one that involves their gain. The battery is an electrochemical cell divided in two half-cells, and reaction proceeds when these are connected together by an electrically conducting pathway. The passage of electrons from one half-cell to the other corresponds to an electric current. Each half-cell contains an electrode in contact with the reacting species. The electrode which passes electrons into the circuit when battery discharges is called anode and is negative terminal. The electrode which receives electrons is called cathode, and is the battery’s positive terminal. The electrical circuit is completed by an electrolyte, an electrically conducting substance placed between the two electrodes which carriers a flow of charge between them. In wet cells, the electrolyte is a liquid containing dissolved ions, whose motion generates an electrical current; in dry cells the electrolyte is basely solid, for example, a solid with mobile ions or porous solid saturated with an ionic solution.

Beer’s law    →   Beerov zakon

Beer’s law (or Beer-Lambert law) is the functional relationship between the quantity measured in an absorption method (A) and the quantity sought, the analyte concentration (c). As a consequence of interactions between the photons and absorbing particles, the power of the beam is attenuated from P_o to P. Beer’s law can be written

where A is the absorbance at a given wavelength of light, ε is the molar absorbtivity or extinction coefficient (L mol^-1 cm^-1), unique to each molecule and varying with wavelength, b is the length of light path through the sample (cm), and c is the concentration of the compound in solution (mol L^-1).

cementation    →   cementacija

Cementation is any metallurgical process in which the surfaces of a metal is impregnated by some other substance, especially an obsolete process for making steel by heating bars of wrought iron to red heat for several days in a bed of charcoal.

chemical    →   kemikalija

Chemicals are a common name for all chemical products or substances prepared by means of chemical-technologic processes.

Bunsen, Robert Wilhem    →   Bunsen, Robert Wilhem

Robert Wilhem Bunsen (1811-1899) is a German chemist who held professorships at Kassel, Marburg and Heidelberg. His early researches on organometallic compound of arsenic cost him an eye in an explosion. Bunsen's most important work was in developing several techniques used in separating, identifying, and measuring various chemical substances. He also improvement chemical battery for use in isolating quantities of pure metals - Bunsen battery.

The essential piece of laboratory equipment that has immortalized the name of Bunsen was not invented by him. Bunsen improved the burner's design, which had been invented by Faraday, to aid his endeavors in spectroscopy. Use of the Bunsen burner in conjunction with a glass prism led to the development of the spectroscope in collaboration with the German physicist Gustav Kirchoff and to the spectroscopic discovery of the elements rubidium (1860) and cesium (1861).