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acids and bases

(Encyclopedia)acids and bases, two related classes of chemicals; the members of each class have a number of common properties when dissolved in a solvent, usually water. Another theory that provides a very broad ...

litmus

(Encyclopedia)litmus, organic dye usually used in the laboratory as an indicator of acidity or alkalinity (see acids and bases). Naturally pink in color, it turns blue in alkali solutions and red in acids. Commonly...

base

(Encyclopedia)base: see acids and bases.

amphoterism

(Encyclopedia)amphoterism ămˌfətĕrˈĭzm [key], in chemistry, the property of certain substances of acting either as acids or as bases depending on the reaction in which they are involved. Many hydroxide compou...

electrolyte

(Encyclopedia)electrolyte ĭlĕkˈtrəlītˌ [key], electrical conductor in which current is carried by ions rather than by free electrons (as in a metal). Electrolytes include water solutions of acids, bases, or s...

carbonic acid

(Encyclopedia)carbonic acid, H2CO3, a weak dibasic acid (see acids and bases) formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water; it exists only in solution. Carbonic acid forms carbonate and bicarbonate (or acid carbon...

acid anhydride

(Encyclopedia)acid anhydride ănhīˈdrīd, –drəd [key], chemical compound that reacts with water to form an acid (see acids and bases). Anhydrides of inorganic acids are usually oxides of nonmetallic elements. ...

Gilbert, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Gilbert, Walter, 1932–, American molecular biologist, b. Boston, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1957. In 1968 he became a professor of biophysics at Harvard, where he had taught since 1959. He helped formulate a ...

buffer

(Encyclopedia)buffer, solution that can keep its relative acidity or alkalinity constant, i.e., keep its pH constant, despite the addition of strong acids or strong bases. Buffer solutions are frequently solutions ...

anion

(Encyclopedia)anion ănˈīˌən [key], atom or group of atoms carrying a negative charge. The charge results because there are more electrons than protons in the anion. Anions can be formed from nonmetals by reduc...