CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

Carnot cycle    →   Carnotov kružni proces

Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle of operations for a reversible heat engine. Published in 1824 by French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796-1832), it consists of four operations on the working substance in the engine:

1-2: Isothermal expansion at thermodynamic temperature T₁ with heat Q_H taken in.

2-3: Adiabatic expansion with a fall of temperature to T₂.

3-4: Isothermal compression at temperature T₂ with heat Q_C given out.

4-1: Adiabatic compression at temperature back to T₁.

According to the Carnot principle, the efficiency of any reversible heat engine depends only on the temperature range through which it works, rather than the properties of the working substances.

catalyst    →   katalizator

Catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change. Catalysts that have the same phase as the reactants are homogenous catalysts (e.g. enzymes in biochemical reactions). Those that have a different phase are heterogeneous catalyst (e.g. metals or oxides used in gas reactions).

The catalyst provides an alternative pathway by which the reaction can proceed, in which the activation energy is lower. In thus increases the rate at which the reaction comes to an equilibrium, although it does not alter the position of the equilibrium.

catalytic cracking    →   katalitčko krekiranje

Catalytic cracking is a petroleum refining process in which heavy-molecular weight hydrocarbons are broken up into light hydrocarbon molecules by the application of heat and pressure in the presence of a catalyst.

cathode ray    →   katodna zraka

Cathode ray is a negatively charged beam that emanates from the cathode of a discharge tube. Cathode rays are streams of electrons.

cathodic protection    →   katodna zaštita

Cathodic protection is a process in which a structural metal, such as iron, is protected from corrosion by connecting it to a metal that has a more negative reduction half-cell potential, which now corrodes instead of iron. There are two major variations of the cathodic method of corrosion protection. The first is called the impressed current method, and the other is called the sacrificial anode method.

cell potential    →   potencijal članka

Cell potential (E) is difference between anode and cathode potential. If the cell potential is positive, then the reaction is spontaneous.

cellulose    →   celuloza

Cellulose, (C₆H₁₀O₅)_n, is a polysaccharide that consists of a long unbranched chain of glucose units linked by (1→4)-β-glycoside bonds. Nature uses cellulose primarily as a structural material to impart strength and rigidity to plants. Leaves, grasses, and cotton are primarily cellulose. The fibrous nature of extracted cellulose has led to its use in textile industry for the production of cotton, artificial silk, etc. Cellulose also serves as raw material for the manufacture of cellulose acetate, known commercially as acetate rayon, and cellulose nitrate, known as guncotton. Gunncotton is the major ingredient in smokeless powder, the explosive propellant used in artillery shells and in ammunition for firearms.

Celsius temperature scale    →   Celsiusova temperaturna skala

For value of zero in Celsius temperature scale the freezing point of water at a pressure of 101 325 Pa is taken. The boiling point of water at a pressure of 101 325 Pa is taken as another reference point. This range is divided into 100 equal parts, and each part is an equivalent to 1 °C. Units of Celsius temperature scale (°C) and thermodynamic temperature scale (K) are identical

1 °C = 1 K.

cement    →   cement

Cement is any various substances used for bonding or setting to a hard material. Portland cement is a mixture of calcium silicates and aluminates made by heating limestone (CaCO₃) with clay (containing aluminosilicates) in a kiln. The product is ground to a fine powder. When mixed with water it settles in a few hours and then hardens over a longer period of time due to the formation of hydrated aluminates and silicates.

centrifugation    →   centrifugiranje

Centrifugation is sedimentation of particles under the influence of the centrifugal force and it is used for separation of superfine suspensions. At centrifuging forces up to 10 000 times greater than gravity force are used, and at ultracentrifuge up to 600 000 times as great.