CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

Fick’s law    →   Fickov zakon

Fick’s law is the statement that the flux J of a diffusing substance is proportional to the concentration gradient, i.e.,

where D is called the diffusion coefficient.

fire    →   vatra

Fire is the manifestation of rapid combustion, or combination of materials with oxygen. The flame is the visible portion of the fire.

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.

enzyme    →   enzim

Enzyme is a protein that acts as a catalyst in biochemical reactions. Each enzyme is specific to a particular reaction or a group of similar reactions. Many require the association of certain nonprotein cofactors in order to function. The molecule undergoing a reaction (the substrate) binds to a specific active site on the enzyme molecule to form a short-lived intermediate: this greatly increases (by a factor of up to 10²⁰) the rate at which the reaction proceeds to form the product.

flash point    →   temperatura zapaljenja

Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid or volatile solid gives off vapour sufficient to form an ignitable mixture with the air near the surface of the liquid or within the test vessel (NFPA).

flotation    →   flotacija

Flotation is a procedure in which hydrophobic solid substances are separated from hydrophilic one using bubbles of air. If air is blow through a suspension, in which substances promoting easier creation of foam are added, bubbles of air are created which stick to the hydrophobic matter and carry it out to the surface.

glass    →   staklo

Glass is a brittle transparent solid with the molecular structure of a liquid. It is made by fusing together sand (SiO₂), soda (Na₂CO₃), and lime (CaCO₃) with small quantities other compounds. It is used for window panes and mirrors, for articles of table and culinary use, for lenses, and various articles of ornament.

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:

Heat of atomisation    →   toplina atomiziranja

Heat of atomisation or enthalpy of atomisation is the energy required to dissociate one mole of a given substance into atoms.

heat of combustion    →   toplina izgaranja

Heat of combustion or enthalpy of combustion is the heat evolved when a definite quantity of a substance is completely oxidised (burned).