CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

electric field    →   električno polje

If a small amount of charge experience a force, there is an electric field in the vicinity. Electric field E is defined in terms of electrostatic force F that would be exerted on positive test charge q_p placed in the field:

SI unit for electric field is N C^-1, or V m^-1.

The electric field due to a point charge q at distance r from it given by:

where ε₀ is permittivity constant, and is ε_o=8.85×10^-12 C² N^-1 m^-2.

epoxy resin    →   epoksi smola

Epoxy resins are thermosetting resins produced by copolymerising epoxide compounds with phenols (e.g. epichlorohydrin and bisphenol A). They contain ether linkages (-O-) and form a tight, cross-linked polymer network. Toughness, good adhesion, corrosive-chemical resistance, and good dielectric properties characterise epoxy resins. Most epoxy resins are two-part types which harden when blended.

ultracentrifuge    →   ultracentrifuga

Ultracentrifuge is a high-speed centrifuge used in the separation of colloidal or submicroscopic particles. The ultracentrifuge can generate forces thousands or millions of times stronger than the force of gravity.

wavefunction    →   valna funkcija

Wavefunction (Ψ) is a mathematical function that gives the amplitude of a wave as a function of position (and sometimes as a function of time and/or electron spin). Wavefunctions are used in chemistry to represent the behaviour of electrons bound in atoms or molecules.

electron    →   elektron

The electron is an elementary particle with a negative electric charge of (1.602 189 2±0.000 004 6)×10^-19 C and a mass of 1/1837 that of a proton, equivalent to (9.109 534±0.000 047)×10^-31 kg.

In 1897 the British physicist Joseph John (J.J.) Thomson (1856-1940) discovered the electron in a series of experiments designed to study the nature of electric discharge in a high-vacuum cathode-ray tube. Thomson interpreted the deflection of the rays by electrically charged plates and magnets as evidence of bodies much smaller than atoms that he calculated as having a very large value for the charge to mass ratio. Later he estimated the value of the charge itself.

Electrons are arranged in from one to seven shells around the nucleus; the maximum number of electrons in each shell is strictly limited by the laws of physics (2n²). The outer shells are not always filled: sodium has two electrons in the first shell (2×1² = 2), eight in the second (2×2² = 8), and only one in the third (2×3² = 18). A single electron in the outer shell may be attracted into an incomplete shell of another element, leaving the original atom with a net positive charge. Valence electrons are those that can be captured by or shared with another atom.

Electrons can be removed from the atoms by heat, light, electric energy, or bombardment with high-energy particles. Decaying radioactive nuclei spontaneously emit free electrons, called β particles.

face-centered cubic lattice    →   plošno centrirana kubična rešetka

Face-centered cubic lattice (fcc or cubic-F), like all lattices, has lattice points at the eight corners of the unit cell plus additional points at the centers of each face of the unit cell. It has unit cell vectors a =b =c and interaxial angles α=β=γ=90°.

The simplest crystal structures are those in which there is only a single atom at each lattice point. In the fcc structures the spheres fill 74 % of the volume. The number of atoms in a unit cell is four (8×1/8 + 6×1/2 = 4). There are 26 metals that have the fcc lattice.

Faraday’s laws of electrolysis    →   Faradayevi zakoni elektrolize

Faraday’s laws of electrolysis are two laws found by British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) in his experiments on electrolysis:

1. The quantity of matter extracted on the electrode is proportional to the quantity of charge (Q = I·t) which has flown in electrolysis time.

where z = number of electrons changed in reaction and F = Faraday’s constant which equals 96 487 C mol^-1.

2. The masses of the elements liberated by the same quantity of electricity are directly proportional to their chemical equivalents.

96 487 C will discharge 1 mol Ag and 1/2 mol Cu. The relevant half reactions are:

filter flask    →   boca za odsisavanje

Filter flask, also known as a vacuum flask, is a flask with a side arm to which a vacuum can be applied. It usually have heavy side walls to withstand high vacuum.

fractional distillation    →   frakcijska destilacija

Fractional distillation is a procedure in which liquids of close boiling points are separated. It is conducted in fraction or rectification columns in a way that vapour phase created by distillation is condensed and the condensate thus obtained is redistilled. The procedure is repeated several times. Vapour phase always contains more volatile component than the liquid phase, at top of the column vapour of clean volatile component gets out and at the bottom of the column liquid of nonvolatile component.

fructose    →   fruktoza

Fructose (fruit sugar) is a ketohexose (a six-carbon ketonic sugar), which occurs in sweet fruits and honey. Glucose and fructose have the same molecular formula, C₆H₁₂O₆, but have different structures. Pure, dry fructose is a very sweet, white, odorless, crystalline solid. Fructose is one of the sweetest of all sugars and is combined with glucose to make sucrose, or common table sugar. An older common name for fructose is levulose, after its levorotatory property of rotating plane polarized light to the left (in contrast to glucose which is dextrorotatory). The polysaccharide inulin is a polymer of fructose.