CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

van der Waals’ equation    →   van der Waalsova jednadžba

Van der Waals’ equation is an equation of state for real fluids which takes the form:

where p is pressure, V_m is molar volume, T is temperature, R is the molar gas constant, and a and b are characteristic parameters of the substance which describe the effect of attractive and repulsive intermolecular forces.

van’t Hoff equation    →   van Hoffova jednadžba

Van’t Hoff equation is the equation expressing the temperature dependence on the equilibrium constant K of a chemical reaction:

where Δ_rH° is the standard enthalpy of reaction, R the molar gas constant, and T the temperature.

Volta, Alessandro    →   Volta, Alessandro

The Italian physicist Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (1745-1827) was the inventor of the voltaic pile, the first electric battery (1800). In 1775 he invented the electrophorus, a device that, once electrically charged by having been rubbed, could transfer charge to other objects. Between 1776 and 1778, Volta discovered and isolated methane gas (CH₄). The electrical unit known as the volt was named in his honor.

Wilson’s chamber    →   Wilsonova komora

Wilson’s chamber is used for detection of radioactive radiation. Wilson’s chamber has a glass cylinder filled with air that has been saturated with water vapour. Radioactive radiation in its way ionises molecules of gas which then function as centres on which water vapour condenses into very small drops, thereupon showing Tyndall’s effect, i.e. is they are visible as a bright trail.

xenon    →   ksenon

Xenon was discovered by Sir William Ramsay, Morris W. Travers (England) in 1898. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word xenos meaning stranger. It is heavy, colourless, odourless, noble gas. Reacts only with fluorine. Xenon is obtain from the small quantities in liquid air. Used for filling flash lamps and other powerful lamps. Electrical excitation of xenon produces a burst of brilliant white light. Also used in bubble chambers and modern nuclear power reactors.

Heyrovsky-Ilkovic equation    →   Heyrovsky-Ilkovičeva jednadžba

The Heyrovsky-Ilkovic equation describes the entire current-potential curve (polarographic wave) of a reversible redox system in polarography

where R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, F is the Faraday constant, n denotes the number of electrons taking part in the electrode reaction. E_1/2 is a unique potential (for a given reaction and supporting electrolyte) termed the half-wave potential.

In order to obtain E_1/2 from the above equation, we plot a graph of ln[(i_d-i)/i] against E. The intercept on the x-axis gives then an accurate value of E_1/2. The slope of the obtained straight line is equal to nF/RT from which n is determined.

water jet vacuum pump    →   vodena sisaljka

The water jet vacuum pump or vacuum aspirator is one of the most popular devices that produces vacuum in laboratories. The rapid flow of water through the device creates a vacuum in a side-arm that is connected to a vacuum application such a Buchner flask. The water jet vacuum pump creates a vacuum by means of Venturi effect named after the Italian physicist Giovanni Battista Venturi (1746–1822). The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section of pipe. Water jet pumps are manufactured of glass, plastic or metal, depending on the conditions in which they are used.