CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

calcium    →   kalcij

Calcium was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy (England) in 1808. The origin of the name comes from the Latin word calix meaning lime. It is fairly hard, silvery-white metal. Exposed surfaces form oxides and nitrides. Reacts with water and oxygen. Occurs only in compounds. Calcium is obtained from minerals like chalk, limestone and marble. Pure metal is produced by replacing the calcium in lime (CaCO₃) with aluminium in hot, low pressure retorts. Used by many forms of life to make shells and bones. Virtually no use for the pure metal, however two of its compounds are, lime (CaO) and gypsum (CaSO₄), are in great demand by a number of industries.

emulsion    →   emulzija

Emulsion is a colloidal system in which the dispersed and continuous phases are both liquids (e.g. oil in water or water in oil). Such systems require an emulsifying agent to stabilize the dispersed particles.

formaldehyde    →   formaldehid

Formaldehyde (methanal) is a colourless gas, HCHO; r.d. 0.815 (at -20 °C); m.p. -92 °C; b.p. -21 °C. It is the simplest aldehyde, made by the catalytic oxidation of methanol (500 °C; silver catalyst) by air. It forms two polymers: methanal trimer and polymethanal.

fouling    →   obrastanje

1. Fouling is the deposition of insoluble materials, such as bacteria, colloids, oxides and water-borne debris, onto the surface of a reverse osmosis or ultrafiltration membrane. Fouling is associated with decreased flux rates and may also reduce the rejection rates of reverse osmosis membranes. Fouling also refers to the accumulation of normally inorganic deposits on heat exchanger tubing.

2. Fouling is an accumulation of marine organism deposits on a submerged metal surface.

carat    →   karat

Carat (ct.) is a metric unit of mass for the weighing of precious metals, precious stone and gems (e.g. diamond, ruby, sapphire).

Carat (ct, Kt) corresponds to the mass fraction of gold in precious alloys used in jewellery.

1 ct = 0.4167 %

24 ct = 100 %

24 carat gold is pure gold, 18 carat is 75 % gold and 25 % of some other metal such as silver or copper.

chlorinity    →   klorinitet

Originally chlorinity (symbol Cl) was defined as the weight of chlorine in grams per kilogram of seawater after the bromides and iodides had been replaced by chlorides. To make the definition independent of atomic weights, chlorinity is now defined as 0.3285233 times the weight of silver equivalent to all the halides.

The Mohr-Knudsen titration method served oceanographers for more than 60 years to determine salinity from chlorinity. This modification of the Mohr method uses special volumetric glassware calibrated directly in chlorinity units. The Mohr method uses potassium chromate (K₂CrO₄) as an indicator in the titration of chloride ions chloride (plus a small amount of bromide and iodide) with a silver nitrate (AgNO₃) standard solution.

The other halides present are similarly precipitated.

A problem in the Mohr titration was that silver nitrate is not well suited for a primary standard. The Danish physicist Martin Knudsen (1871-1949) suggested that a standard seawater (Eau de mer Normale or Copenhagen Normal Water) be created and distributed to oceanographic laboratories throughout the world. This water was then used to standardize the silver nitrate solutions. In this way all chlorinity determinations were referred to one and the same standard which gave great internal consistency.

The relationship between chlorinity Cl and salinity S as set forth in Knudsen's tables is

In 1962, however, a better expression for the relationship between total dissolved salts and chlorinity was found to be

gel    →   gel

Gels are colloids in which both dispersed and continuous phases have a three-dimensional network throughout the material, so that it forms a jelly-like mass (e.g. gelatine). One component may sometimes be removed to leave a rigid gel (e.g. heating silica gel).

micelle    →   micele

Micelle is an electrically charged colloidal particle, usually organic in nature, composed of aggregates of large molecules, e.g., in soaps and surfactants. For aqueous solutions, the hydrophilic end of the molecule is on the surface of the micelle, while the hydrophobic end (often a hydrocarbon chain) points toward the centre.

neptunium    →   neptunij

Neptunium was discovered by Edwin M. McMillan and P. H. Abelson (USA) in 1940. Named after the planet Neptune. It is rare, silvery radioactive metal. Resists alkalis; reacts with oxygen and acids. Attacked by steam. Radiotoxic. Neptunium was produced by bombarding uranium with slow neutrons.

non-Newtonian fluid    →   nenewtonski fluid

Non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid whose viscosity changes when the gradient in flow speed changes. Colloidal suspensions and polymer solutions like ketchup and starch/water paste are non-Newtonian fluids.