CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

balance    →   vaga

Balance is an instrument to measure the mass (or weight) of a body. Balance beam type scales are the oldest type and measure weight using a fulcrum or pivot and a lever with the unknown weight placed on one end of the lever, and a counterweight applied to the other end. When the lever is balanced, the unknown weight and the counterweight are equal. The equal-arm balance consists of two identical pans hung from either end of a centrally suspended beam. The unequal-arm balance is made with one arm of the balance much longer than the other.

More modern substitution balances use the substitution principle. In this calibrated weights are removed from the single lever arm to bring the single pan suspended from it into equilibrium with a fixed counter weight. The substitution balance is more accurate than the two-pan device and enables weighing to be carried out more rapidly.

Electromagnetic force restoration balances also use a lever system but a magnetic field is used to generate the force on the opposite end of the lever and balance out the unknown mass. The current used to drive the magnetic coil is proportional to the mass of the object placed on the platform.

bismuth    →   bizmut

Bismuth was discovered by Claude Geoffroy (France) in 1753. The origin of the name comes from the German words Weisse Masse meaning white mass; now spelled wismut and bisemutum. It is hard, brittle, steel-grey metal with a pink tint. Stable in oxygen and water. Dissolves in concentrated nitric acid. Bismuth can be found free in nature and in minerals like bismuthine (Bi₂S₃) and in bismuth ochre (Bi₂O₃) Main use is in pharmaceuticals and low melting point alloys used as fuses.

Bohr magneton    →   Bohrov magneton

Bohr magneton (μ_B) is the atomic unit of magnetic moment, defined as

where h is Planck’s constant, m_e the electron mass, and e the elementary charge. It is the moment associated with a single electron spin.

gravimetrical factor    →   gravimetrijski faktor

Gravimetrical factor is stechiometric proportion between molar mass of analyte and molar mass of precipitate in gravimetry.

gravitational constant    →   gravitacijska konstanta

Gravitational constant (G) is the universal constant in the equation for the gravitational force between two particles

where r is the distance between the particles and m₁ and m₂ are their masses.

gray    →   grej

Gray (Gy) is the SI derived unit of absorbed dose of radiation. The gray is the absorbed dose when the energy per unit mass imparted to matter by ionising radiation is one joule per kilogram (Gy = J/kg). The unit was named after the British scientist Louis Harold Gray (1905-1965).

Brinell hardness    →   Brinellova tvrdoća

Brinell hardness is a scale for measuring the hardness of metals introduced around 1900 by Swedish metallurgist Johan Brinell (1849-1925). A small chromium steel ball is pressed into the surface of the metal by a load of known weight. The loading force is in the range of 300 N to 30 000 N. The ratio of the mass of the load in kilograms to the area of the depression formed in square millimetres is the Brinell Hardness Number.

carat    →   karat

Carat (ct.) is a metric unit of mass for the weighing of precious metals, precious stone and gems (e.g. diamond, ruby, sapphire).

Carat (ct, Kt) corresponds to the mass fraction of gold in precious alloys used in jewellery.

1 ct = 0.4167 %

24 ct = 100 %

24 carat gold is pure gold, 18 carat is 75 % gold and 25 % of some other metal such as silver or copper.

Charles’ law    →   Charlesov zakon

The volume of a fixed mass of gas at a constant pressure expand by the constant fraction of its volume at 0 °C. For each Celsius or kelvin degree its temperature is raised. For any ideal gas fraction it is approximately 1/273. This can be expressed by the equation

were V° is the volume at 0°C and V is its volume at t°C.

This is equivalent to the statement that the volume of a fixed mass of gas at a constant pressure is proportional to its thermodynamic temperature

This law also know as Gay-Lussac’s law.

An equation similar to the one given above applies to pressures for ideal gases:

concentration    →   koncentracija

1. Group of four quantities characterizing the composition of a mixture with respect to the volume of the mixture (mass, amount, volume and number concentration).

2. Short form for amount (of substance) concentration (substance concentration in clinical chemistry).