CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

filter    →   filtar

Filter is a device for separating solid particles from a liquid or a gas. The simplest laboratory filter for liquids is a funnel in which a cone of paper (filter paper) is placed. Special containers with a porous base of sintered glass are also used.

flash point    →   temperatura zapaljenja

Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid or volatile solid gives off vapour sufficient to form an ignitable mixture with the air near the surface of the liquid or within the test vessel (NFPA).

fluid mechanics    →   mehanika fluida

Fluid mechanics is the study of various properties of the fluid (liquids and gases): velocity, pressure, density and temperature, as functions of space and time.

chromatography    →   kromatografija

Chromatography is a method of separation of the components of a sample in which the components are distributed between two phases, one of which is stationary while the other moves. In gas chromatography, the gas moves over a liquid or solid stationary phase. In liquid chromatography, the liquid mixture moves through another liquid, a solid, or a gel. The mechanism of separation of components may be adsorption, differential solubility, ion-exchange, permeation, or other mechanisms.

cobalt    →   kobalt

Cobalt was discovered by Georg Brandt (Germany) in 1735. The origin of the name comes from the German word kobald meaning goblin or evil spirit. It is hard, ductile, lustrous bluish-grey metal. Surfaces stable in air. Reacts over time with dilute acids. It has remarkable magnetic properties. Cobalt occurs in compounds with arsenic and sulfur as in cobaltine (CoAsS) and linneite (Co₃S₄). Pure cobalt is obtained as a by-product of refining nickel, copper and iron. Used in many hard alloys; for magnets, ceramics and special glasses. Radioactive cobalt-60 is used in cancer therapy.

colloid    →   koloid

Colloids are systems in which there are two or more phases, with one (the dispersed phase) distributed in the other (the continuous phase). Moreover, at least one of the phases has small dimensions, in the range between 1 nm and 1 μm (10^-9 m – 10^-6 m). Dimension, rather than the nature of the material, is characteristic. In this size range, the surface area of the particle is large with respect to its volume so that unusual phenomena occur, e.g., the particles do not settle out of the suspension by gravity and are small enough to pass through filter membranes. Macromolecules (proteins and other high polymers) are at the lower limit of this range; the upper limit is usually taken to be the point at which the particles can be resolved in an optical microscope.

Colloidal particles may be gaseous, liquid, or solid, and occur in various types of suspensions:

Sols - dispersions of small solid particles in a liquid.

Emulsions - colloidal systems in which the dispersed and continuous phases are both liquids.

Gels - colloids in which both dispersed and continuous phases have a three-dimensional network throughout the material.

Aerosols - colloidal dispersions of liquid or solid particles in a gas.

Foams - dispersions of gases in liquids or solids.

fluorescence    →   fluorescencija

Fluorescence is a luminescence phenomenon in which electron returns to it's ground state almost instantaneously (less than 10^-8 second), and in which emission from a luminescent substance ceases when the exciting source is removed. Fluorescence is characterized by radiation emission in all directions.

colloid mill    →   koloidni mlin

Colloid mills are machines used to grind aggregates into very fine particles or to apply very high shearing within a fluid to produce colloid suspensions or emulsions in which the particle sizes are less than 1 micrometer. One type of colloid mill is called a disc mill, in which a mixture of a solid and liquid (or two liquids) is passed between two discs a small distance apart, which rotate very rapidly relative to each other. Applications of colloid mills occur in food processing, in paint manufacture, and in the pharmaceutical industry.

combustible    →   zapaljiv

The term combustible is often used to describe any material which will burn. However, conditions at which combustion will occur must be defined more accurately, for example a combustible liquid is 37.8 °C but below 93.3 °C. This allows a distinction to be made between combustible materials, which are fairly difficult to ignite, and flammable or highly flammable ones, which are far easier to ignite.

critical point    →   kritična točka

In general, critical point is the point on the phase diagram of a two-phase system at which the two coexisting phases have identical properties and therefore represent a single phase. At the liquid-gas critical point of a pure substance, the distinction between liquid and gas vanishes, and the vapour pressure curve ends. The coordinates of this point are called the critical temperature and critical pressure. Above the critical temperature it is not possible to liquefy the substance.