CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

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.

aliquot    →   alikvot

Aliquot is a known volume of liquid that represents a part of some larger volume. It is usually taken with a pipette from a measured flask.

ampere    →   amper

Ampere (A) is the SI base unit of electric current.

The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 metre apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2×10^-7 newton per metre of length.

anodic rays    →   anodne zrake

Anodic rays, rays which in a vacuum tube are emitted from anode.

barium    →   barij

Barium was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy (England) in 1808. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word barys meaning heavy. It is soft, slightly malleable, silvery-white metal. Attacked by air and water. Soluble compounds toxic by ingestion. Barium is found in barytine (BaSO₄) and witherite (BaCO₃), never found in pure form due to its reactivity. Must be stored under kerosene to remain pure. Barite, or barium sulfate (BaSO₄), when ground is used as a filter for rubber, plastics and resins. It is insoluble in water and so is used in X-rays of the digestive system. Barium nitrate, Ba(NO₃)₂, burns brilliant green and is used in fireworks.

barometer    →   barometar

Barometer is an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure. A mercury barometer is a closed tube filled with mercury inverted in a mercury reservoir. The height of the mercury column indicates atmospheric pressure (with 1 atm = 760 mm of mercury). An aneroid barometer consists of an evacuated container with a flexible wall. When atmospheric pressure changes, the wall flexes and moves a pointer which indicates the changing pressure on a scale.

light year    →   svjetlosna godina

Light year (ly) is a unit of distance used in astronomy, defined as the distance light travels in one year in a vacuum (ly = 9.46052973·10¹⁵ m).

paramagnetism    →   paramagnetizam

Paramagnetism is a type of magnetism characterised by a positive magnetic susceptibility, so that the material becomes weakly magnetised in the direction of an external field. The magnetisation disappears when the field in removed.

radiation    →   radijacija

The process of heat transfer which occurs through empty space and can also occur in matter, in the form of electro-magnetic (EM) waves, is called radiation or radiant heat. Whenever EM radiation is emitted and then absorbed, heat is transferred. This principle is used in microwave ovens, laser cutting, and RF hair removal.

Buchner funnel    →   Buchnerov lijevak

Büchner funnel is one device used for pressure assisted filtration. Buchner funnel is a cylindrical porcelain filtering funnel (glass and plastic funnels are also available) that has a perforated plate on which the flat filter paper is placed. A vacuum in the flask underneath the filter allows atmospheric pressure on the sample to force the liquid through the filter paper. It is named after the German chemist Ernst Wilhelm Büchner (1850-1925) who designed this funnel in 1885.