CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

refractometer    →   refraktometar

Refractometer is an optical device used from measurement of refractive index. A refractometer takes advantage of the fact that light bends as it passes through different materials. It can be used to measure the salinity of water or the amount of sugar in fresh grapes. Refractometers are available with or without automatic temperature compensation (ATC).

When using a conventional saltwater refractometer, a sample is placed on an optical prism in the sample window. As light shines through the sample, it is bent according to the salinity of the water, and casts a shadow on the scale that is visible through the eyepiece. Salinity is read directly through the eyepiece.

resistivity    →   električna otpornost

Electrical resistivity, or specific resistance (ρ) is the electric field strength divided by the current density when there is no electromotive force in the conductor. Resistivity is an intrinsic property of a material. Materials with low resistivity are good conductors of electricity and materials with high resistivity are good insulators.

For a conductor of uniform cross section with area A and length L, and whose resistance is R, the resistivity is given by

The SI unit is Ω m.

rotational inertia    →   moment tromosti

Rotational inertia of a body is defined as

for a system of discrete particles (each of mass m_i), and as

for a body with continuously distributed mass (dm is the mass element). r_i and r represent the perpendicular distance from the axis of rotation to the mass element of the body.

SI unit for rotational inertia is kg m².

salt bridge    →   solni most

Salt bridge is a permeable material soaked in a salt solution that allows ions to be transferred from one container to another. The salt solution remains unchanged during this transfer.

salt fog test    →   ispitivanje u slanoj komori

Salt fog test is an accelerated corrosion test in which specimens are exposed to a fine mist of a solution usually containing sodium chloride (typically 5 %). Other contaminants can be added according to desired conditions. It is mainly used to determine the effectiveness of material finishes and protective coatings on materials. Salt-fog testing is also used to determine the effects of salt deposits on the electrical functions of electronic assemblies.

samarium    →   samarij

Samarium was discovered by Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (France) in 1879. Named after the mineral samarskite. It is silvery rare earth metal. Stable in dry air. Oxide coating forms on surfaces exposed to moist air. Metal ignites and burns readily. Reacts with water. Samarium is found with other rare earths in monazite sand. It is used in the electronics and ceramics industries. It is easily magnetized and very difficult to demagnetise. This suggests important future applications in solid-state and superconductor technologies.

sediment    →   sediment

1. Sediment is a fragmental material that originates from weathering of rocks and is transported by, suspended in, or deposited by water or air or is accumulated in beds by other natural agencies. When solidified, sediments form sedimentary rocks.

2. Strictly, sediment is a solid material that has settled down from a state of suspension in a liquid.

smoke    →   dim

Smoke is a fine suspension of solid particles in a gas. In general smoke particles range downward from about 5 μm in diameter to less than 01 μm in diameter. Smoke generally refers to a visible mixture of products given off by the incomplete combustion of an organic substance such as wood, coal, fuel oil etc. This airborne mixture general contains small particles (dusts) of carbon, hydrocarbons, ash etc. as well as vapors such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.

solar cell    →   sunčeva ćelija

Solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is a device that captures sunlight and transforms it directly to electricity. All solar cells make use of photovoltaic effect, so often they are called photovoltaic cells. Almost all solar cells are built from solid-state semiconducting materials, and in the vast majority of these the semiconductor is silicon.

The photovoltaic effect involves the generation of mobile charge carriers-electrons and positively charged holes-by the absorption of a photon of light. This pair of charge carriers is produced when an electron in the highest filled electronic band of a semiconductor (the valence band) absorbs a photon of sufficient energy to promote it into the empty energy band (the conduction band). The excitation process can be induced only by a photon with an energy corresponding to the width of the energy gap that separates the valence and the conduction band. The creation of an electron-hole pair can be converted into the generation of an electrical current in a semiconductor junction device, wherein a layer of semiconducting material lies back to back with a layer of either a different semiconductor or a metal. In most photovoltaic cells, the junction is p-n junction, in which p-doped and n-doped semiconductors are married together. At the interface of the two, the predominance of positively charged carriers (holes) in the p-doped material and of negatively charged carriers (electrons) in the n-doped material sets up an electric field, which falls off to either side of the junction across a space-charge region. When absorption of a photon in this region generates an electron-hole pair, these charge carriers are driven in opposite directions by the electric field, i.e. away from the interface and toward the top and bottom of the two-layer structure, where metal electrodes on these faces collect the current. The electrode on the top layer (through which light is absorbed) is divided into strips so as not to obscure the semiconducting layers below. In most widely used commercial solar cells, the p-doped and n-doped semiconductive layers are formed within a monolithic piece of crystalline silicon. Silicon is able to absorb sunlight at those wavelengths at which it is most intense-from the near-infrared region (wavelengths of around 1200 nm) to the violet (around 350 nm).

standard    →   standard

Standards are materials containing a known concentration of an analyte. They provide a reference to determine unknown concentrations or to calibrate analytical instruments.

The accuracy of an analytical measurement is how close a result comes to the true value. Determining the accuracy of a measurement usually requires calibration of the analytical method with a known standard. This is often done with standards of several concentrations to make a calibration or working curve.

A primary standard is a reagent that is extremely pure, stable, has no waters of hydration, and has a high molecular weight.

A secondary standard is a standard that is prepared in the laboratory for a specific analysis. It is usually standardised against a primary standard.