Chemistry

Definition of ferrite

An etymological analysis of the term ferrite leads us to pay attention to two components: the Latin word ferrum and the suffix -ita. While ferrum can be translated as "iron", -ite is used to form the name of the minerals. According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), ferrite is called […]

Definition of sodium benzoate

Sodium benzoate is a chemical compound also known as sodium benzoate, soda benzoate or E211. It is generally used as a food preservative, making it a food additive. It is important to mention that these additives have no nutritional value and are not a meal on their own. […]

Definition of chlorate

Chlorate is a term that comes from chlorine (the chemical element with symbol Cl and atomic number 17). The salt of chloric acid is called chlorate. Chlorine is a toxic gas that is mainly used to disinfect water. The chlorine oxacid is called chloric acid: this means that […]

Definition of chlorination

The act and result of chlorinating is called chlorination. This verb, in turn, has two uses recognized by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) in its dictionary. The first meaning mentioned by the RAE refers to incorporating chlorine into water with the aim of disinfecting it. Clorar, on the other hand, can refer to the introduction […]

Definition of zirconium

Zirconium is a term that the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) also accepts as zirconium. Its etymology refers to the scientific Latin zirconium, which in turn is formed with two words: the English zircon (translatable as “zircon”) and the Latin ending -ium (in our language, “-io”). Zirconium is a metal whose symbol […]

Definition of rosin

The Greek word kolophōnía came into Latin as colophonĭa. This term is the closest etymological antecedent of rosin, a concept that, in our language, refers to a natural resin. Rosin arises from the distillation of a substance called turpentine, a juice secreted by various conifers. It is an element that […]

Definition of burette

The burette is a laboratory instrument used for the development of volumetric analysis. The term comes from the French word burette. It is a tube made of glass that has a graduation. At the bottom, it has a key. Thanks to the burette, the volume of […]

Definition of spectrophotometry

Spectrophotometry is a concept that is formed with two terms: spectrum and photometry. To understand its meaning, therefore, it is convenient to begin with the analysis of its components. In the field of physics, the distribution, by virtue of a certain magnitude, of the intensity of radiation is called a spectrum. The notion […]

Definition of shot

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) indicates that granalla is a term that comes from a derogatory allusion to grain. The notion of grain, for its part, has several uses: in this case we are interested in its meaning as a portion or reduced amount of something. Shot is called the set of small particles to which […]

Definition of electrophoresis

The etymology of electrophoresis takes us to the French word electrophorèse. This term, in turn, is formed with the union of electro- (that is, the prefix electro-) and the Greek phórēsis (which can be translated as "transport"). Before continuing with the definition of electrophoresis, it should be noted that the compositional element electro- refers to what […]