CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

air    →   zrak

Air that we breathe is a mixture of gases. The composition of dry-air at sea level is shown below:

alkanes    →   alkani

Alkanes (paraffins) are acyclic branched or unbranched hydrocarbons having the general formula C_nH_2n+2, and therefore consisting entirely of hydrogen atoms and saturated carbon atoms. In the systematic chemical nomenclature alkane names end in the suffix -ane. They form a homologous series (the alkane series) methane (CH₄), ethane (C₂H₆), propane (C₃H₈), butane (C₄H₁₀), etc. The lower members of the series are gases; the high-molecular mass alkanes are waxy solid. Generaly the alkanes are fairly unreactive. They form haloalkanes with halogens when irradiated with ultraviolet radiation. Alkanes are present in natural gas and petroleum.

ammonia    →   amonijak

Ammonia is a colourless gas, NH₃, with a strong pungent odour. It is easily soluble in water and alcohol. Liquid ammonia has some similarity to water as it is hydrogen bonded and has a moderate dielectric constant, which permits it to act as an ionising solvent.

amount fraction    →   količinski udio

Amount fraction, x_A, (y for gaseous mixtures) is the ratio of the amount of substance (number of moles) of substance A to the total amount of substance in a mixture.

Archimedes law    →   Arhimedov zakon

The upward force (buoyancy force) is exerted on a body floating in a fluid. It equals the weight of the displaced fluid.

Avogadro, Amadeo    →   Avogadro, Amadeo

Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1856) is an Italian chemist and physicist that proposed a correct molecular explanation for Gay-Lussac’s law of combining volumes. His work provided a simple way to determine atomic weights and molecular weights of gases. He is published a theory about the movement of particles in gases that became known as Avogadro’s Law.

Avogadro’s law    →   Avogadrov zakon

Avogadro’s law: Equal volumes of all gases contain equal numbers of molecules at the same pressure and temperature. The law, often called Avogadro’s hypothesis, is true only for ideal gases. It was proposed in 1811 by Italian chemist Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1856).

argon    →   argon

Argon was discovered by Lord Raleigh and Sir William Ramsay (Scotland) in 1894. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word argos meaning inactive. It is colourless and odourless noble gas. Chemically inert. It is the third most abundant element in the earth’s atmosphere and makes up about 1 %. Argon is continuously released into the air by decay of radioactive potassium-40. Pure form is obtained from fractional distillation of liquid air. Used in lighting products. It is often used in filling incandescent light bulbs. Some is mixed with krypton in fluorescent lamps. Crystals in the semiconductor industry are grown in argon atmospheres.

Arrhenius equation    →   Arheniusova jednadžba

In 1889, Svante Arrhenius explained the variation of rate constants with temperature for several elementary reactions using the relationship

where the rate constant k is the total frequency of collisions between reaction molecules A times the fraction of collisions exp(-E_a/RT) that have an energy that exceeds a threshold activation energy E_a at a temperature of T (in kelvin). R is the universal gas constant.

beta-glucan    →   beta-glukan

Beta-glucans are are naturally occurring polysaccharides that contain only glucose as structural components, and are linked with β-glycosidic bonds. They is the most known powerful immune stimulant. The most active forms of β-glucans are those comprising D-glucose units with β(1→3) links and with short side-chains of D-glucose attached at the β(1→6) position. These are referred to as beta-1,3/1,6 glucan. They are a major component of soluble dietary fiber, which can be found in cereal grains (oats, barley, wheat), yeast, and certain mushrooms (shiitake, maitake).