CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

Acheson process    →   Achesonov proces

Acheson process is an industrial process to synthesize graphite and silicon carbide (carborundum), named after its inventor the American chemist Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856-1931). In this process, a solid-state reaction between pure silica sand (SiO₂) and petroleum coke (C) at very high temperature (more than 2500 °C) leads to the formation of silicon carbide under the general reaction:

While studying the effects of high temperature on carborundum, Acheson had found that silicon vaporizes at about 4150 °C, leaving behind graphitic carbon.

acrylic acid    →   akrilna kiselina

Acrylic acid (propenoic acid) is a colourless liquid, smelling like acetic acid. It can be formed by acrolein oxidation. It readily polymerizes and is used in the manufacture of acrylic resins, transparent plastic materials (organic glass).

activated charcoal    →   aktivni ugljen

Activated charcoal or activated carbon is charcoal that has been activated for adsorption by steaming or by heating in a vacuum. Charcoal is obtained by burning wood, nutshells, coconut husks or other materials. Charcoal becomes activated by heating it with steam to approximately 1000 °C in the absence of oxygen.

The chemical nature of amorphous carbon, combined with a high surface area makes it an ideal medium for the adsorption of organic chemicals. A single gram of such material can have 400 m² to 1 200 m² square meters of surface area. Activated charcoal is widely used to decolorize liquids, recover solvents, and remove toxins from water and air.

agar    →   agar

Agar, also called agar-agar, is an extract of certain species of red algae (of the Gelidium and Gracilaria genera) that is used as a gelling agent in microbiological culture media, foodstuffs, medicine, and cosmetic. The predominant component of agar is agarose, a polysaccharide made up of subunits of the sugar galactose.

alabaster    →   alabaster

Alabaster is a monoclinic mineral form of hydrated calcium sulphate. It is a pure fine-grained translucent form of gypsum. CaSO₄·2H₂O.

Californian soup    →   kalifornijska juha

Californian soup is a fungicide and insecticide chemical used for protection of plants, manufactured by boiling sulphur with slaked lime.

cgs system of units    →   cgs sustav jedinica

Cgs system of units is a system of units based upon the centimetre, gram, and second. The International System (SI) has supplanted the cgs system.

chemical technology    →   kemijska tehnologija

Chemical technology is a branch of applied chemistry that concerns technical methods and devices in order to manufacture a chemical product.

chlorofluorocarbons    →   klorofluorougljici

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are manmade chemicals containing chlorine, fluorine, and carbon. CFCs are used for industrial purposes and in the home for refrigeration, air conditioning, aerosols and as a raw material in polystyrene production.

chlorosity    →   klorocitet

Chlorosity is the quantity determined by volumetric methods and is defined in the same manner as chlorinity except that the sample unit is 1 L of sea water rather than 1 kg of sea water weighed in vacuo.