CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

light    →   svjetlo

Light (visible radiation) is a form of electromagnetic radiation able to be detected by the human eye. Its wavelength range is between about 400 nm and about 700 nm. The boundaries are not precise, because individuals vary in their ability to detect extreme wavelengths.

luminescence    →   luminiscencija

Luminescence (from Latin lumen, light) is the emission of electromagnetic radiation (UV, visible or IR) from atoms or molecules as a result of the transition of an electronically excited state to a lower energy state, usually the ground state. Luminescence can be divided into categories by duration (fluorescence or phosphorescence) or by the mechanism that creates the light (radioluminescence, electroluminescence, photoluminescence, thermoluminescence, triboluminescence, chemiluminescence, bioluminescence). The prefix identifies the energy source responsible for generating or releasing the light.

Phosphorescence is emission of light from a substance exposed to radiation and persisting as an afterglow after the source of excitation has been removed. Fluorescence, on the other hand, is an almost instantaneous effect, ending within about 10^-8 second after excitation.

neodymium    →   neodimij

Neodymium was discovered by Carl F. Auer von Welsbach (Austria) in 1885. The origin of the name comes from the Greek words neos didymos meaning new twin. It is silvery-white, rare-earth metal that oxidizes easily in air. Reacts slowly in cold water, more rapidly as heated. Metal ignites and burns readily. Neodymium is made from electrolysis of its halide salts, which are made from monazite sand. Used in making artificial ruby for lasers. Also in ceramics and for a special lens with praseodymium. Also to produce bright purple glass and special glass that filters infrared radiation. Misch metal, used in the manufacture of pyrophoric alloys for cigarette lighters, contains about 18 % neodymium metal. (Typically composition of misch metal are Ce:Nd:Pr:La:Other rare earth=50:18:6:22:4). Neodymium is used to create some of the most powerful permanent magnets on Earth, known as NIB magnets they consist of neodymium, iron, and boron.

nobelium    →   nobelij

Nobelium was discovered by Nobel Institute of Physics in Stockholm and later by Albert Ghiorso, Torbjorn Sikkeland, J. R. Walton and Glenn T. Seaborg (USA) in 1958. Named in honour of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist who discovered dynamite and founder of the Nobel Prizes. It is synthetic radioactive metal. Nobelium was made by bombarding curium with carbon-13.

nuclear magnetic resonance    →   nuklearna magnetska rezonancija

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a type of radio-frequency spectroscopy based on the magnetic field generated by the spinning of electrically charged atomic nuclei. This nuclear magnetic field is caused to interact with a very large (1 T - 5 T) magnetic field of the instrument magnet. NMR techniques have been applied to studies of electron densities and chemical bonding and have become a fundamental research tool for structure determinations in organic chemistry.

Raman effect    →   Ramanov efekt

Raman effect is a type of scattering of electromagnetic radiation in which light suffers a change in frequency and a change in phase as it passes through a material medium. Named according to the Indian physicist C. V. Raman (1889-1970). The intensity of Raman scattering is about one-thousandth of that in Rayleigh scattering in liquids.

Newton’s gravitational law    →   Newtonov zakon gravitacije

Every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force (gravitational force F_G) directed along the line through centres of the two objects that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

m₁ and m₂ are masses of the two objects and r is the distance between them. G is universal constant of gravitation, which equals 6.67•10^-26 N m² kg^-2. Strictly speaking, this law applies only to objects that can be considered pointlike object. Otherwise, the force has to be found by integrating the forces between various mass elements.

It is more properly to express Newton’s gravitational law by vector equation:

in which r₁ and r₂ are position vectors of masses m₁ and m₂.

Gravitational forces act on distance. Newton’s gravitational law is derived from Kepler’s law for planetary motion, using a physical assumption considering Sun as the centre and the source of gravitational force.

Additionally, every object moves in the direction of the force acting on it, with acceleration that is inversely proportional to the mass of object. For bodies on the surface of Earth, the distance r in gravitational law formula is practically equal to the Earth radius, R_E. If the mass of the body on Earth surface is m and the mass of earth is M_E, the gravitational force acting on that body can be expressed as:

where g is gravitational acceleration which is, although dependent on geographical latitude, usually considered as constant equal to 9.81 m s^-2.

refractive index    →   indeks loma

For a non-absorbing medium, refractive index (n) is the ratio of the velocity of electromagnetic radiation (light) in vacuum to the phase velocity of radiation of a specified frequency in the medium.

rem    →   rem

Rem (rem) (roentgen equivalent man) is a non-SI unit of dose equivalent employed in radioprotection (rem = 10^-2 Sv).

seaborgium    →   seaborgij

Seaborgium was discovered by workers at the Nuclear Institute at Dubna (USSR) and by workers at the University of California, Berkeley (USA) in 1974. Named in honour of Glenn T. Seaborg, American nuclear chemist and Nobel prize winner. It is synthetic radioactive metal. Seaborgium was made by bombarding californium-249 with oxygen-18.