CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

Curie temperature    →   Curiejeva temperatura

For a ferromagnetic material, Curie temperature or Curie point (T_C) is the critical temperature above which the material becomes paramagnetic. For iron the Curie point is 760 °C and for nickel 356 °C. It was named after the French physicist Pierre Curie (1859-1906).

Dalton’s law    →   Daltonov zakon

Dalton’s law of partial pressure says that the total pressure eof gaseous mixture is equal to the sum of all gases partial pressures which make that mixture on the condition that they do not interact.

For example, if dry oxygen gas at 900 hPa is saturated with water vapor at 56 hPa, the pressure of the wet gas is 956 hPa.

decomposition    →   raspadanje

Decomposition occurs when chemical compounds are broken up into simple molecules, and even as far as their original elements. These processes are normally irreversible. An example of decomposition is when ammonium nitrate is heated. This produces nitrous oxide and water which are unable to recombine.

degree    →   stupanj

1. Degree is a unit of temperature on a specified scale. The temperatures of boiling and freezing water are: in the Fahrenheit system 212 and 32 degrees; in the Celsius system 100 and 0 (zero) degrees.

2. Degree is a unit of angular measure. A circle is divided into 360 degrees, represented by the symbol °. Degrees are each divided into 60 minutes. Each minute has 60 seconds. Symbols for degree, minute, and second for plane angle is placed after the numerical value and a no space between the numerical value and the unit symbol (α = 2°3'4").

3. In algebra, the degree of a polynomial is the highest power of the variable in the polynomial. For example, 4x³ + 3x² + x + 7 have degree 3.

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.

neutral oxide    →   neutralni oksid

Neutral oxides are those oxides which show neither basic nor acidic properties when they react with water. Examples include carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) which are only slightly soluble in water, and nitric oxide (NO) which is appreciably soluble in cold water.

deoxyribonucleic acid    →   dezoksiribonukleinska kiselina

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid with 2-deoxy-D-ribose as the sugar in its nucleotides. DNA contains encoded genetic information, specifically templates for the synthesis of all of an organism’s proteins and enzymes.

DNA was first identified in the 1869 by Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher (1844-1895). In 1953, American biologist James Dewey Watson (1928-) and English physicist Francis Harry Compton Crick (1916–2004) had discovered that DNA occurs in the cell as a double helix, with two long strands of the molecule wound around each other, and further that the chemical structure of the molecule dictates that adenine (A) always aligns or pairs with thymine (T), and cytosine (C) always pairs with guanine (G). It is this base pairing that allows DNA in a cell to copy itself, and transfer its information to a new cell. The diameter of the helix is 2.0 nm and there is a residue on each chain every 0.34 nm in the z direction. The angle between each residue on the same strand is 36°, so that the structure repeats after 10 residues (3.4 nm) on each strand.

diagenesis    →   dijageneza

Diagenesis is the process that turns sediments into sedimentary rocks. The lithification (literally turning into stone) of the sediments is usually accomplished by a cementing agent. How the weight of the overlying material increases the grains closer together, reducing pore space and eliminating some of the contained water. This water may carry mineral components in solution, and these constituents precipitate as new minerals in the pore spaces. This causes cementation, which will then start to bind the individual particles together. Further compaction and burial may cause recrystallization of the minerals to make the rock even harder.

neutral substance    →   neutralna tvar

Neutral substance is a substance that shows no acid or base properties, has an equal number of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions and does not change the colour of litmus-paper.

neutralisation    →   neutralizacija

Neutralisation is the process in which an acid reacts with a base to form a salt and water.