CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

chemisorption    →   kemisorpcija

Chemisorption is a binding of a liquid or gas on the surface or in the interior of a solid by chemical bonds or forces.

chemotherapy    →   kemoterapija

Chemotherapy is the treatment of disease by means of chemicals that have a specific toxic effect upon the disease producing microorganisms (antibiotics) or that selectively destroy cancerous tissue (anticancer therapy).

calorimeter    →   kalorimetar

Calorimeter is an instrument used to measure the energy absorbed or released in a chemical reaction. It also used in determining specific heat.

carbohydrate    →   ugljikohidrat

Carbohydrates (often called carbs for short) are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones, or substances that yield such compounds on hydrolysis. They are also known as saccharides, a term derived from the Latin word saccharum for sugar. Carbohydrates are the most abundant class of compounds in the biological world, making up more than 50 % of the dry weight of the Earth’s biomass. Every type of food we eat can have its energy traced back to a plant. Plants use carbon dioxide and water to make glucose, a simple sugar, in photosynthesis. Other carbohydrates such as cellulose and starch are made from the glucose. Light from the sun is absorbed by chlorophyll and this is converted to the energy necessary to biosynthesize carbohydrates

The term carbohydrate was applied originally to monosaccharides, in recognition of the fact that their empirical composition can be expressed as C_x(H₂O)_y. Later structural studies revealed that these compounds were not hydrates but the term carbohydrate persists.

Carbohydrates are generally classed as either simple or complex. Simple sugars, or monosaccharides, are carbohydrates that can’t be converted into smaller subunits by hydrolysis. Complex carbohydrates are made of two (disaccharides) or more (oligosaccharides, polysaccharides) simple sugars linked together by acetal (glycosidic) bonds and can be split into the former by hydrolysis.

computational chemistry    →   kompjutacijska kemija

Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry concerned with the prediction or simulation of chemical properties, structures, or processes using numerical techniques.

conduction    →   kondukcija

This process occurs most significantly in solids. The atoms or molecules in a solid state do not leave their mean positions, but continue to vibrate about their mean positions. They transfer heat energy from one atom to another. This happens because of the coupling between them due to mutually attractive forces.

congener    →   srodnost

Congener is a term in chemistry that refers to one of many variants or configurations of a common chemical structure. Elements belonging to the same group on the periodic table. For example, sodium and potassium are congeners.

cosmic rays    →   kozmičke zrake

Cosmic rays are high energy (10¹⁵ eV- 10¹⁷ eV) nuclear particles, electrons, and photons, originating mostly outside the solar system, which continually bombard the Earth’s atmosphere.

cyanogen    →   cijan

Cyanogen is a colourless gas, (CN)₂ with a pungent odour. The compound is very toxic. It my be prepared in the laboratory by heating mercury (II) cyanide.

cellulose    →   celuloza

Cellulose, (C₆H₁₀O₅)_n, is a polysaccharide that consists of a long unbranched chain of glucose units linked by (1→4)-β-glycoside bonds. Nature uses cellulose primarily as a structural material to impart strength and rigidity to plants. Leaves, grasses, and cotton are primarily cellulose. The fibrous nature of extracted cellulose has led to its use in textile industry for the production of cotton, artificial silk, etc. Cellulose also serves as raw material for the manufacture of cellulose acetate, known commercially as acetate rayon, and cellulose nitrate, known as guncotton. Gunncotton is the major ingredient in smokeless powder, the explosive propellant used in artillery shells and in ammunition for firearms.