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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glossary of chemistry terms | 8/20 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_chemistry_terms | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:59:20.572989+00:00 | kb-cron |
electrochemical cell A device capable of either generating electrical energy from chemical reactions, in which case it is known as a galvanic or voltaic cell, or using electrical energy to cause chemical reactions, in which case it is known as an electrolytic cell. For example, a battery contains one or more galvanic cells, each of which consists of two electrodes arranged such that an oxidation–reduction reaction produces an electromotive force.
electrochemistry A branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change, as understood through either the chemical reactions accompanying the passage of an electric current or the potential difference that results from a particular chemical reaction.
electrolyte A solution that conducts a certain amount of electric current and can be split categorically into weak and strong electrolytes.
electromagnetic radiation A type of wave that can go through vacuums as well as material and is classified as a self-propagating wave.
electromagnetic spectrum
electromagnetism Fields with an electric charge and electrical properties that change the way that particles move and interact.
electromotive force (emf)
electron A type of subatomic particle with a net charge that is negative. Contrast positron.
electron acceptor
electron capture A type of nuclear transformation by which the proton-rich nucleus of an electrically neutral atom absorbs or 'captures' an electron from one of its own inner shells, often those closest to the nucleus, which provokes a reaction that results in a nuclear proton changing into a neutron accompanied by the simultaneous emission of an electron neutrino.
electron configuration The distribution of the electrons of an atom or molecule within atomic or molecular orbitals. An extensive system of notation is used to concisely and uniquely display information about the electron configuration of each atomic species. Knowledge of the specific arrangements of electrons in different atoms is useful for understanding chemical bonds and the organization of the periodic table of the elements.
electron deficiency
electron donor
electron electric dipole moment (de) An intrinsic property of an electron such that its potential energy is linearly related to the strength of its electric field; a measure of the distribution of an electron's negative charge within the electric field it creates. See also electric dipole moment.
electron magnetic dipole moment Also electron magnetic moment. The magnetic moment of an electron, caused by the intrinsic properties of its spin and electric charge, equal to approximately −9.284764×10−24 joules per tesla.
electron neutrino
electron pair Two electrons which occupy the same molecular orbital but have opposite spins. Electron pairs form chemical bonds or occur as lone pairs of valence electrons; it is also possible for electrons to occur individually as unpaired electrons.
electron shell An orbital around the nucleus of an atom which contains a fixed number of electrons (usually two or eight).
electronegativity (χ) A chemical property that describes the tendency of an atom to attract a shared pair of electrons (or electron density) towards itself. An atom's electronegativity is affected both by its nuclear charge (which is proportional to the number of protons in its nucleus) and the number and location of the electrons present in its atomic shells (which influences the distance of the nucleus from the valence electrons). The higher an atom or substituent's electronegativity, the more it attracts electrons towards itself. As it is usually calculated, electronegativity is not a property of an atom alone but rather of an atom within a molecule; it therefore varies with an element's chemical environment, though it is generally considered a transferable property.
electron-volt (eV)
electrophile Any atom or molecule which can accept an electron pair. Most electrophiles carry a net positive charge, include an atom carrying a partial positive charge, or include a neutral atom that does not have a complete octet of electrons, and therefore they attract electron-rich regions of other species; an electrophile with vacant orbitals can accept an electron pair donated by a nucleophile, creating a chemical bond between the two species. Because they accept electrons, electrophiles are Lewis acids by definition.
electrosynthesis
element A species of atoms having the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei and hence the same atomic number. Chemical elements constitute all of the ordinary matter in the universe; 118 elements have been identified and are organized by their various chemical properties in the periodic table of the elements.
elementary reaction Any chemical reaction in which one or more chemical species react directly to form products in a single reaction step and with a single transition state, i.e. without any intermediates. Contrast stepwise reaction.
elution The process of extracting one material from another by washing with a solvent. Elution works by running a solution containing an analyte past an adsorbent matrix designed to selectively bind the analyte molecules, and subsequently washing the adsorbent/analyte complex with a solvent, known as an eluent. The solvent molecules displace the analyte by binding to the adsorbent in its place, allowing the analyte, now part of the eluate, to be carried out of the complex and into a collector for analysis.
empirical formula The simplest whole-number ratio of the atoms of each element present in a chemical compound.
emulsion A type of colloid in which small particles of one liquid are dispersed in another liquid; e.g. a dispersion of water in an oil, or of an oil in water. Emulsions are often stabilized by the addition of a substance, known as an emulsifier, that has both lyophilic and lyophobic parts in its molecules.
enantiomer
enantiomorph
end-group A constitutional unit that occupies a terminal position within or is at an extremity of a macromolecule or polymer, and thus by definition is connected to only one other constitutional unit of the molecule.
endothermic process
energy A system's ability to do work.
enplethy See amount of substance.
enthalpy A measure of the total internal energy of a thermodynamic system, usually symbolized by H.
enthalpy of fusion
entropy The amount of energy that is not available for work in a closed thermodynamic system, usually symbolized by S.