CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

Dewar flask    →   Dewarova posuda

Dewar flask or vacuum bottle is a container for storing hot or cold substances. It consists of two flasks, one placed inside the other, with a vacuum between. The vacuum prevents the conduction of heat from one flask to the other. For greater efficiency the flasks are silvered to reflect heat. The substance to be kept hot or cold, e.g., liquid air, is contained in the inner flask. The flask is named after British chemist and physicist Sir James Dewar (1842-1923). Dewar invented the Dewar flask in 1892 to aid him in his work with liquid gases. The common thermos bottle is an adaptation of the Dewar flask.

dielectric constant    →   dielektrična konstanta

Dielectric constant or permittivity (ε) is an index of the ability of a substance to attenuate the transmission of an electrostatic force from one charged body to another. The lower the value, the greater the attenuation. The standard measurement apparatus utilises a vacuum whose dielectric constant is 1. In reference to this, various materials interposed between the charged terminal have the following value at 20 °C:

The exceptionally high value for water accounts for its unique behaviour as a solvent and in electrolytic solutions. Dielectric constant values decrease as the temperature rises.

distilled water    →   destilirana voda

Distilled water is water purified by distillation so as to free it from dissolved salts and other compounds. Distilled water in equilibrium with the carbon dioxide in the air has conductivity of about 0.8×10^-6 S cm^-1. Repeated distillation in vacuum can bring conductivity down to 0.043×10^-6 S cm^-1 at 18 °C. The limiting conductivity is due to self ionisation

dropper    →   kapaljka

Dropper is a pipette consisting of a small tube with a vacuum bulb at one end for drawing liquid in and releasing it a drop at a time.

electron    →   elektron

The electron is an elementary particle with a negative electric charge of (1.602 189 2±0.000 004 6)×10^-19 C and a mass of 1/1837 that of a proton, equivalent to (9.109 534±0.000 047)×10^-31 kg.

In 1897 the British physicist Joseph John (J.J.) Thomson (1856-1940) discovered the electron in a series of experiments designed to study the nature of electric discharge in a high-vacuum cathode-ray tube. Thomson interpreted the deflection of the rays by electrically charged plates and magnets as evidence of bodies much smaller than atoms that he calculated as having a very large value for the charge to mass ratio. Later he estimated the value of the charge itself.

Electrons are arranged in from one to seven shells around the nucleus; the maximum number of electrons in each shell is strictly limited by the laws of physics (2n²). The outer shells are not always filled: sodium has two electrons in the first shell (2×1² = 2), eight in the second (2×2² = 8), and only one in the third (2×3² = 18). A single electron in the outer shell may be attracted into an incomplete shell of another element, leaving the original atom with a net positive charge. Valence electrons are those that can be captured by or shared with another atom.

Electrons can be removed from the atoms by heat, light, electric energy, or bombardment with high-energy particles. Decaying radioactive nuclei spontaneously emit free electrons, called β particles.

filter flask    →   boca za odsisavanje

Filter flask, also known as a vacuum flask, is a flask with a side arm to which a vacuum can be applied. It usually have heavy side walls to withstand high vacuum.

filter paper    →   filtar papir

Filter paper is a quantitative paper used for filtering and made of pure cellulose treated with hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid. This kind of paper burns out practically without any remains (less than 0.0001 g ashes). Different types of paper are marked with numbers; qualitative bears marking 595 or 597 and quantitative 589 or 590. Dependable upon precipitate character, different types of filter paper are used:

• black band (589¹) - 100 mL of fluid flows through it in 20 s to 30 s. It is used for filtering of gelatinous precipitates.
• white band (589²) - 100 mL of fluid flows through it in 40 s to 60 s. It is used for coarse crystalline precipitates filtration.
• blue band (589³) - 100 mL of fluid flows through it in 200 s to 400 s. It is used for fine crystalline precipitates.

magnetic permeability    →   magnetska permeabilnost

Magnetic permeability (μ), also called permeability, is a constant of proportionality that exists between magnetic induction and magnetic field intensity. This constant is equal to approximately μ_o = 1.257×10^-6 H/m in a vacuum.

Magnetic permeability is often expressed in relative, rather than in absolute, terms. If μ represents the permeability of the substance in question, then the relative permeability, μ_r, is given by:

mass spectrometry    →   masena spectrometrija

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique in which ions are separated according to the mass/charge (m/e) ratio and detected by a suitable detector.

In a mass spectrometer a sample is ionised and the positive ions produced are accelerated into a high-vacuum region containing electric and magnetic fields. These fields deflect and focus the ions onto a detector. A mass spectrum is thus obtained, consisting of a series of peaks of variable intensity to which m/e values can be assigned. Different molecules can be identified by their characteristic pattern of lines.

metre    →   metar

Metre (m) is the SI base unit of length.

The meter is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 s.

This definition, adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measure in October 1983, replaced the 1967 definition based on the krypton lamp.