CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

miscible matter    →   mješljiva tvar

Miscible matter is capable of being mixed in any ratio with another matter without separation of two phases.

mutagenic substance    →   mutagena tvar

Mutagenic substances are substances that cause mutation, a change in inheritable properties of an organism.

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.

solute    →   otopljena tvar

Solute is a substance that has been dissolved or could be dissolved in another substance (solvent).

optical activity    →   optička aktivnost

Optical activity is the ability of a chiral molecule to rotate the plane of plane-polairzed light. Molecules of an optically active substance cannot be superimposed on their own mirror images, just as your left hand cannot be superimposed on your right when both are held palm-down.

micelle    →   micele

Micelle is an electrically charged colloidal particle, usually organic in nature, composed of aggregates of large molecules, e.g., in soaps and surfactants. For aqueous solutions, the hydrophilic end of the molecule is on the surface of the micelle, while the hydrophobic end (often a hydrocarbon chain) points toward the centre.

abundance of substances    →   rasprostranjenost tvari

Abundance of substances is the ratio of the total mass of a specified element in the Earth’s crust to the total mass of the Earth’s crust. It is often expressed as a percentage.

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.

active site    →   aktivno mjesto

Active site is a pocket or crevice on an enzyme molecule that fits reactant molecules like a hand in a glove. The active site lowers the activation energy for reaction

carcinogen    →   kancerogene tvari

Carcinogen is any substance that can cause or contribute to the production of cancer.