CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

Einstein equation    →   Einsteinova jednadžba

Einstein equation is the mass-energy relationship introduced by Albert Einstein in 1905 in the form E = mc², where E is a quantity of energy, m its mass, and c is the speed of light. It presents the concept that energy possesses mass.

equilibrium constant    →   konstanta ravnoteže

The equilibrium constant (K) was originally introduced in 1863 by Norwegian chemists C.M. Guldberg and P. Waage using the law of mass action. For a reversible chemical reaction represented by the equation

chemical equilibrium occurs when the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the back reaction, so that the concentrations of products and reactants reach steady-state values.

The equilibrium constant is the ratio of chemical activities of the species A, B, C, and D at equilibrium.

To a certain approximation, the activities can be replaced by concentrations.

For gas reactions, partial pressures are used rather than concentrations

The units of K_p and K_c depend on the numbers of molecules appearing in the stoichiometric equation (a, b, c, and d).

The value equilibrium constant depends on the temperature. If the forward reaction is exothermic, the equilibrium constant decreases as the temperature rises. The equilibrium constant shows the position of equilibrium. A low value of K indicates that [C] and [D] are small compared to [A] and [B]; i.e. that the back reaction predominates.

The equilibrium constant is related to Δ_rG°, the standard Gibbs free energy change in the reaction, by

explosive    →   eksploziv

Explosive is a compound or mixture that, when ignited or detonated, undergoes rapid violent chemical reaction that produces large amount of gas and heat, accompanied by light, sound and a high pressure shock wave.

Haber process    →   Haberov proces

Haber process is an industrial process for producing ammonia by reaction of nitrogen with hydrogen:

The reaction is reversible and exothermic, so that a high yield of ammonia is favoured by low temperature. However, the rate of reaction would be too slow for equilibrium to be reached at normal temperatures, so an optimum temperature of about 450 °C is used, with a catalyst of iron containing potassium aluminium oxide promoters. The higher the pressure the greater the yield, although there are technical difficulties in using very high pressures. A pressure of about 250 atmospheres is commonly employed. The removal of ammonia from the batch as soon as it is formed ensures that an equilibrium favouring product formation is maintained. The nitrogen is obtained from air. Formerly, the hydrogen was from water gas and the water-gas shift reaction (the Bosch process) but now the raw material (called synthesis gas) is obtained by steam reforming natural gas.

The process is of immense importance for the fixation of nitrogen for fertilisers and explosives. It was developed in 1908 by German chemist Fritz Haber (1868-1934) and was developed for industrial use by Carl Bosch (1874-1940), hence the alternative name Haber-Bosch process.

theories of catalysis    →   teorije katalize

Theories of catalysis explain the influence of the catalysts upon the rate of a reaction by describing the detailed mechanism by which the catalyst is involved in the steps of the chemical reaction.

Ilkovic equation    →   Ilkovičeva jednadžba

Ilkovic equation is a relation used in polarography relating the diffusion current (i_d) and the concentration of the depolarizer (c), which is the substance reduced or oxidized at the dropping mercury electrode. The Ilkovic equation has the form

Where k is a constant which includes Faraday constant, π and the density of mercury, and has been evaluated at 708 for max current and 607 for average current, D is the diffusion coefficient of the depolarizer in the medium (cm²/s), n is the number of electrons exchanged in the electrode reaction, m is the mass flow rate of Hg through the capillary (mg/sec), and t is the drop lifetime in seconds, and c is depolarizer concentration in mol/cm³.

The equation is named after the scientist who derived it, the Slovak chemist, Dionýz Ilkovič 1907-1980).

valence shell    →   valentna ljuska

Valence shell is the shell corresponding to the highest value of principal quantum number in the atom. The valence electrons in this shell are on average farther from the nucleus than other electrons. They are often directly involved in chemical reaction.

power    →   snaga

Power is the rate at which work is done. If a force does work W in a time interval Δt, the average power is:

Instantanous power is the instantaneous rate of doing work:

Like work, power is scalar quantity. Its SI unit is watt (W); 1 W=1 J s^-1.

acceleration    →   akceleracija

If a point-like object undergoes a change in velocity Δv=v_f-v_i in time Δt=t_f-t_i (indexes i and f stand for initial and final instant as well as for initial and final velocity) its average acceleration, a is defined as

The instantaneous acceleration, a, is obtained from the average acceleration by shrinking the time interval Δt towards zero. The average acceleration approaches a limiting value, which is the acceleration of a given instant:

Acceleration is a vector quantity. SI unit for acceleration is m s^-2.

Acheson process    →   Achesonov proces

Acheson process is an industrial process to synthesize graphite and silicon carbide (carborundum), named after its inventor the American chemist Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856-1931). In this process, a solid-state reaction between pure silica sand (SiO₂) and petroleum coke (C) at very high temperature (more than 2500 °C) leads to the formation of silicon carbide under the general reaction:

While studying the effects of high temperature on carborundum, Acheson had found that silicon vaporizes at about 4150 °C, leaving behind graphitic carbon.