Chemistry: Unambiguous Definitions for Rational Discussion

Climate-Debate.com > Discussion Forum > Climate debate in general > Chemistry: Unambiguous Definitions for Rational Discussion > Page 2

Page 2 of 2

07-01-2025 21:51
Into the Night★★★★★ (22820)	Swan wrote: Do you talk to yourself often Random phrase. No apparent coherency. The Parrot Killer Debunked in my sig. - tmiddles Google keeps track of paranoid talk and i'm not on their list. I've been evaluated and certified. - keepit nuclear powered ships do not require nuclear fuel. - Swan While it is true that fossils do not burn it is also true that fossil fuels burn very well - Swan
08-01-2025 18:26
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	Into the Night wrote: Swan wrote: Do you talk to yourself often Random phrase. No apparent coherency. We are so fortunate to have a scientific genius such as Into the Night contributing to the thread about chemistry definitions. As a "chemist", he offers expert analysis and insight. Only a truly scientific minded person would know how to explain the whole "Random phrase" and "No apparent coherency" thing so clearly and completely. SO MUCH chemistry can be learned by reading Into the Nights nearly 23000 posts. NOT a TROLL! Just a SUPER INTELLIGENT "chemist". And thermodynamics expert. Oh, and don't forget engineer, pilot, casino card dealer.
09-01-2025 08:20
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	"Define your terms" is a favorite expression at this website. Discussion of science is facilitated by common understanding of what the terms are intended to mean. Challenges to assertions often hinge on interpretation of terms. For example: "pH cannot be equal to or less than zero." - Into the Night To know if this assertion is correct, one needs to know what "pH" is. pH = -log[H+] "pH" is equal to the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion chemical activity, with chemical activity reported as Molarity (moles H+ per liter) or Normality (equivalents H+ ion charge per liter) For an acid such as HCl, hydrochloric acid, Molarity and Normality are the same because one mole of HCl has one equivalent H+ per mole. For an acid such as H2SO4, sulfuric acid, Molarity is 1/2 Normality, because one mole of H2SO4 has TWO equivalents H+ per mole. Take a 1.0 N solution of HCl, hydrochloric acid, which is easy to mix in a lab. That solution has 1.0 moles per liter H+ The negative logarithm of 1.0 = 0 The pH of that solution MUST BE zero, IFF pH = -log[H+] "Do the math" - IBdaMann However, the great Bible of Falsifiable Theories MIGHT have a more "correct" definition of "pH", by which pH CANNOT be equal to or less than zero. I wish they would stop keeping their definitions secret. MANY of the definitions from the Bible of Falsifiable Theories DIRECTLY CONTRADICT the definitions found in chemistry textbooks and dictionaries. THIS THREAD is where I will try to reconcile the disparity. Starting with pH If it is CORRECT that pH = -log[H+], then pH absolutely CAN be less than or equal to zero. If pH CANNOT be less than or equal to zero, then pH does NOT equal -log[H+] Should we take a vote on it? No, "science is not consensus" What IS pH, if it is correct that it cannot be less than or equal to zero? Maybe it is just my PERSONAL OPINION that pH = -log[H+]? According to the opinions expressed at this website, there are MANY basic chemistry terms that are "controversial", with radically divergent interpretations of what they mean. pH, for example. But this is just the FIRST "unambiguous definition" to work on. IFF pH = -log[H+], it is FALSE that "pH cannot be less than or equal to zero." As IBdaMann says, "Do the math."
09-01-2025 08:22
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	Into the Night wrote: Stop spamming. Into the Night often posts "Stop spamming." AND Into the Night has a secret definition for the term "chemical". "Fluoride is not a chemical." "Carbonate is not a chemical" "Bicarbonate is not a chemical" and the list of "not a chemical" goes on and on. Some of Into the Night's posts consist ENTIRELY of repeating the same sentence 10 times that one particular thing "is not a chemical". It MUST be IMPORTANT. So, before attempting to take on extreme advanced chemistry such as "pH" or "Buffer", maybe we need to figure out what a "chemical" is. Let's ask Google, or maybe even a textbook or dictionary, the obvious question - "What is a chemical?" Perhaps Into the Night will finally share HIS unique, personal definition for the term "chemical", to explain WHY, for example, "Fluoride is not a chemical". Here is a pretty vague one: "A chemical is any substance that has a defined composition. In other words, a chemical is always made up of the same 'stuff'." Well, "fluoride" is usually short hand for the fluoride ION, which is certainly a substance that has a defined composition. It is a fluorine atom that has acquired an additional electron to become the negatively charged ion (i.e. anion) called "fluoride"... Fluoride ions are always made up of the same "stuff". Same holds for "carbonate" and "bicarbonate", which are usually short hand for "carbonate ion" and "bicarbonate ion", which would seem to qualify as "chemicals". Perhaps what this thread can accomplish is to assist with the translation. Into the Night is incredibly evasive about providing any kind of definition for the terms that this thread hopes to define. What is pH? What is a buffer? and what the heck is a CHEMICAL? At least it can be made clear here what the overwhelming majority of SCIENTISTS understand these terms to mean. Perhaps when referring to "a carbonate" it is NOT a "chemical" because it might be potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and the list goes on. But when simply referring to "carbonate", it is almost always short hand for the carbonate ION. CO3(2-) is an anion with two negative charges. Carbonate ion is certainly "a substance that has a defined composition". Carbonate ion is certainly "always made of the same 'stuff'" I am quite comfortable continuing to use the term "carbonate" as short hand for the carbonate ion, as most chemists do. CO3(2-) IS a chemical. Perhaps we will someday learn the alternative definition that says it is NOT.
09-01-2025 08:23
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	Into the Night wrote: You deny chemistry, Robert. You think chemistry is meaningless buzzwords. You aren't discussing chemistry. I'm not going to teach you English. Okay, well I AM going to teach you a little English. The word "ion". For example, the hydrogen ION, also commonly referred to by chemists as simply a "proton" (protonation, deprotonation, "donate a proton" etc.) Into the Night can only say, "Hydrogen is not a proton", over and over, when challenged about his FALSE assertion that hydrogen ION "is not a proton". Into the Night can only say, "Carbonate is not a chemical", over and over and over and over, when challenged about his FALSE assertion that carbonate ION "is not a chemical". Is it a deliberate evasive word game? Does Into the Night not understand what "ion" MEANS? Or does he simply not SEE the word "ion" when he answers "Is hydrogen ION a proton?" by saying "Hydrogen is not a proton." Carbonate ion IS a chemical by any actual chemist's definition of "chemical". When the term "carbonate" is used alone in a sentence by chemists, it is almost ALWAYS a quicker way of saying "carbonate ion", which is a specific CHEMICAL. To further clarify, if the term "carbonate" follows the name of a cation, such as CALCIUM carbonate, sodium carbonate, or even hydrogen carbonate (carbonic acid), then "carbonate" is part of the name of a specific salt, acid, or base that contains the carbonate ion. Might as well point that out too, sodium carbonate is ALKALINE, a weak base. Sodium carbonate is orders of magnitude less alkaline that sodium hydroxide. Bicarbonate buffers against pH change upon addition of BASE, by turning the STRONG BASE sodium hydroxide into the WEAK BASE sodium carbonate. Chemists sometimes might refer to a generic "carbonate" (a carbonate), but the word wouldn't stand alone as "carbonate" in the sentence. Go learn English and learn to read. Into the Night, do you know what the CARBONATE ION is? Is there some chemistry-related reason to say carbonate ion is NOT a chemical? If not, why the eff do you say it so many hundreds of times? Because I am NEVER suggesting that all carbonates are a single chemical. Learn how chemists communicate, and you will understand that nearly every time you see "proton" or "carbonate" or "fluoride" alone in a sentence, it is almost ALWAYS a reference to hydrogen ION, carbonate ION, or fluoride ION. Do you think you are making some kind of meaningful argument with the perpetual "not a chemical" shit? Does the argument become ten times more persuasive by repeating TEN TIMES within the same post, the basically FALSE claim that "carbonate is not a chemical? And there is no need to say anything MORE? Just deny that carbonate is a chemical, over and over, and you have EXPLAINED something about chemistry? You cannot teach what you do not know.
09-01-2025 08:24
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	Definition of terms - IS CARBONATE A CHEMICAL? Ask good old GOOGLE, I bet HE knows the answer. Google search terms: is carbonate a chemical? And GOOGLE (aka God) says: "Yes, 'carbonate' is considered a chemical, specifically referring to a polyatomic ion with the formula CO3(2-) which is derived from carbonic acid (H2CO3) and is often in compounds with metals like calcium and sodium, forming minerals like calcium carbonate (CaCO3)." Google's assertions are 100% consistent with everything I learned during extensive training in chemistry at universities. Google has a much better track record than Into daMann when it comes to having a CORRECT assertion about SCIENCE. And, like all the other chemists, I will continue to use the term "carbonate" in reference to the CHEMICAL they call the "carbonate ion".
09-01-2025 08:25
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	pH buffering, aluminum chemistry, and sea water pH Aluminum hydroxide, Al(OH)3, used to be the only active ingredient in the popular over the counter antacid Rolaids. stomach acid plus rolaids equals weakly acidic salt plus water 3HCl + Al(OH)3 = AlCl3 + 3H2O Aluminum ion, Al3+, can neutralize BASE. Caustic soda + aluminum chloride = rolaids + table salt 3NaOH + AlCl3 = Al(OH)3 + 3NaCl Aluminum is typically the third or fourth most abundant element found in soil. So why isn't ALUMINUM BUFFERING being invoked in SEA WATER chemistry? Basically, the sea isn't ALKALINE or ACIDIC enough for aluminum buffering to work. The sea is only slightly alkaline, with pH around 8.3 If the sea were "very alkaline", as IBdaMann asserts, then pH buffering with aluminum would be a BIG DEAL. Aluminate ions, AlO2-, form when there is enough hydroxide around to transform aluminum hydroxides into aluminum ANIONS. Al(OH)3 + NaOH = NaAlO2 + 2H2O Sea water pH is nowhere near high enough for aluminate ion to form. But what if the sea were actually ACIDIC, as IBdaMann says would allow marine life to thrive as never before? Buffering by the carbonate system becomes a moot point once the pH gets below 7. Neither carbonate ion nor carbonate ion can be present at high enough concentration to do any buffering at pH below 7. The sea doesn't do it, but in SOIL is is not at all unusual to find pH below 7, and sometimes orders of magnitude more acidic than that. Aluminum pH buffering in SOIL is what runs the show in acidic soils. "Exchangeable acidity" in soil is the "pool" of aluminum ions, Al3+, that is adsorbed to cation exchange (CEC) sites. Why does soil pH only go down to 5 or maybe 4 in extreme cases, no matter how much acid you add? Because all those added protons get buffered by ALUMINUM. Hydrogen ions "protonate" the soil aluminum, minimizing pH decline while creating a "pool" of "exchangeable acidity" in the form of aluminum ions adsorbed to cation exchange sites. You might try to do a "pH adjustment" to your acidic soil, thinking it shouldn't take too much lime (calcium carbonate) just to raise it from pH 5 to pH 7. But you just add more and more lime, and the pH barely climbs at all. The exchangeable acidity reacts with the added lime to minimize pH shift. Al3+ + CaCO3 = Al2(CO3)3 So, aluminum compounds can be effective pH buffers at very HIGH pH, via the aluminate ion, and at relatively LOW pH, as trivalent Al3+ ions forms and hydrogen ions (H+, protons) get neutralize by protonating aluminum. Sea water pH is too close to neutral for any kind of aluminum buffering to apply. Indeed, the concentration of ANY form of aluminum in sea water is TINY, despite its abundance in the earth's. Pretty much only those aluminum ions, Al3+, that are held in organometallic complexes by chelating organic acids can stay dissolved at sea water pH. Because, OBVIOUSLY, I "think chemistry is meaningless buzzwords". Into the Night wrote: You deny chemistry, Robert. You think chemistry is meaningless buzzwords. You aren't discussing chemistry. I'm not going to teach you English. Okay, well I AM going to teach you a little English. The word "ion". For example, the hydrogen ION, also commonly referred to by chemists as simply a "proton" (protonation, deprotonation, "donate a proton" etc.) Into the Night can only say, "Hydrogen is not a proton", over and over, when challenged about his FALSE assertion that hydrogen ION "is not a proton". Into the Night can only say, "Carbonate is not a chemical", over and over and over and over, when challenged about his FALSE assertion that carbonate ION "is not a chemical". Is it a deliberate evasive word game? Does Into the Night not understand what "ion" MEANS? Or does he simply not SEE the word "ion" when he answers "Is hydrogen ION a proton?" by saying "Hydrogen is not a proton." Carbonate ion IS a chemical by any actual chemist's definition of "chemical". When the term "carbonate" is used alone in a sentence by chemists, it is almost ALWAYS a quicker way of saying "carbonate ion", which is a specific CHEMICAL. To further clarify, if the term "carbonate" follows the name of a cation, such as CALCIUM carbonate, sodium carbonate, or even hydrogen carbonate (carbonic acid), then "carbonate" is part of the name of a specific salt, acid, or base that contains the carbonate ion. Might as well point that out too, sodium carbonate is ALKALINE, a weak base. Sodium carbonate is orders of magnitude less alkaline that sodium hydroxide. Bicarbonate buffers against pH change upon addition of BASE, by turning the STRONG BASE sodium hydroxide into the WEAK BASE sodium carbonate. Chemists sometimes might refer to a generic "carbonate" (a carbonate), but the word wouldn't stand alone as "carbonate" in the sentence. Go learn English and learn to read. Into the Night, do you know what the CARBONATE ION is? Is there some chemistry-related reason to say carbonate ion is NOT a chemical? If not, why the eff do you say it so many hundreds of times? Because I am NEVER suggesting that all carbonates are a single chemical. Learn how chemists communicate, and you will understand that nearly every time you see "proton" or "carbonate" or "fluoride" alone in a sentence, it is almost ALWAYS a reference to hydrogen ION, carbonate ION, or fluoride ION. Do you think you are making some kind of meaningful argument with the perpetual "not a chemical" shit? Does the argument become ten times more persuasive by repeating TEN TIMES within the same post, the basically FALSE claim that "carbonate is not a chemical? And there is no need to say anything MORE? Just deny that carbonate is a chemical, over and over, and you have EXPLAINED something about chemistry? You cannot teach what you do not know.
09-01-2025 08:27
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	The sea is slightly alkaline, with pH around 8.3 The pH of soils varies from place to place, with some soils ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE more acidic than sea water. Even a circumneutral soil with pH near 7 is already ONE order of magnitude more acidic than sea water. Soils with pH near 5, which comprise MILLIONS and MILLIONS of hectares, are THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE more acidic than sea water. Because pH = -log[H+], the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion chemical activity, as moles or equivalents per liter. And on the logarithmic scale, 1 pH unit difference is exactly one order of magnitude. Comparing sea water at pH near 8 to an acid sulfate soil with pH near 5, the difference of 3 pH units represents THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE. These soils are three orders of magnitude more acidic than sea water. Buffering by the carbonate system does not apply in this pH range. In the pH 5 zone, ALUMINUM is the Big Buffer. pH buffering, aluminum chemistry, and sea water pH Aluminum hydroxide, Al(OH)3, used to be the only active ingredient in the popular over the counter antacid Rolaids. stomach acid plus rolaids equals weakly acidic salt plus water 3HCl + Al(OH)3 = AlCl3 + 3H2O Aluminum ion, Al3+, can neutralize BASE. Caustic soda + aluminum chloride = rolaids + table salt 3NaOH + AlCl3 = Al(OH)3 + 3NaCl Aluminum is typically the third or fourth most abundant element found in soil. So why isn't ALUMINUM BUFFERING being invoked in SEA WATER chemistry? Basically, the sea isn't ALKALINE or ACIDIC enough for aluminum buffering to work. The sea is only slightly alkaline, with pH around 8.3 If the sea were "very alkaline", as IBdaMann asserts, then pH buffering with aluminum would be a BIG DEAL. Aluminate ions, AlO2-, form when there is enough hydroxide around to transform aluminum hydroxides into aluminum ANIONS. Al(OH)3 + NaOH = NaAlO2 + 2H2O Sea water pH is nowhere near high enough for aluminate ion to form. But what if the sea were actually ACIDIC, as IBdaMann says would allow marine life to thrive as never before? Buffering by the carbonate system becomes a moot point once the pH gets below 7. Neither carbonate ion nor carbonate ion can be present at high enough concentration to do any buffering at pH below 7. The sea doesn't do it, but in SOIL is is not at all unusual to find pH below 7, and sometimes orders of magnitude more acidic than that. Aluminum pH buffering in SOIL is what runs the show in acidic soils. "Exchangeable acidity" in soil is the "pool" of aluminum ions, Al3+, that is adsorbed to cation exchange (CEC) sites. Why does soil pH only go down to 5 or maybe 4 in extreme cases, no matter how much acid you add? Because all those added protons get buffered by ALUMINUM. Hydrogen ions "protonate" the soil aluminum, minimizing pH decline while creating a "pool" of "exchangeable acidity" in the form of aluminum ions adsorbed to cation exchange sites. You might try to do a "pH adjustment" to your acidic soil, thinking it shouldn't take too much lime (calcium carbonate) just to raise it from pH 5 to pH 7. But you just add more and more lime, and the pH barely climbs at all. The exchangeable acidity reacts with the added lime to minimize pH shift. Al3+ + CaCO3 = Al2(CO3)3 So, aluminum compounds can be effective pH buffers at very HIGH pH, via the aluminate ion, and at relatively LOW pH, as trivalent Al3+ ions forms and hydrogen ions (H+, protons) get neutralize by protonating aluminum. Sea water pH is too close to neutral for any kind of aluminum buffering to apply. Indeed, the concentration of ANY form of aluminum in sea water is TINY, despite its abundance in the earth's. Pretty much only those aluminum ions, Al3+, that are held in organometallic complexes by chelating organic acids can stay dissolved at sea water pH.
09-01-2025 08:28
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	OXIDANTS or TERMINAL ELECTRON ACCEPTORS Most of the scientific literature published about biological oxidation and reduction reactions do not refer to oxygen, O2, as an "oxidant", but rather as a "terminal electron acceptor". While it is quite correct to call oxygen an "oxidant", there is the implication of a direct reaction between an oxygen molecule and the organic carbon atom that get oxidized. "Terminal electron acceptor" makes clear that this is the molecule ultimately responsible for allowing a carbon atom to lose some of its electrons and have them end up somewhere, even if they didn't get there until intermediate reactions had occurred among other reactants. This is an important distinction from a direct chemical oxidation, particularly for terminal electron acceptors OTHER than oxygen. In sulfate reduction, the terminal electron acceptor (sulfur) acquires additional electrons, but not directly off the organic carbon atom getting oxidized. Nitrate, sulfate, ferric iron(III), manganese(IV), and many other oxyanions (phosphate, arsenate, selenate, borate, molybdate...) can all be used as terminal electron acceptors by bacteria under low oxygen conditions.
09-01-2025 09:53
IBdaMann★★★★★ (14932)	Im a BM wrote: Okay, well I AM going to teach you a little English. I'm going to extend to you the same courtesy. Im a BM wrote: The word "ion". Nope. We need to get a little more basic for you (no pun intended). We need to focus on articles. You use the definite article "the" when you should be using the indefinite article "a." For example, where you write "the hydrogen ION" you should write "a hydrogen ion." A chemical is a specific instance of matter, and many chemicals contain a hydrogen ion. Im a BM wrote: Carbonate ion IS a chemical by any actual chemist's definition of "chemical". Per the definition, "a carbonate ion" is not a chemical, but is a component to many chemicals. Im a BM wrote: When the term "carbonate" is used alone in a sentence by chemists, ... they ALWAYS mean the category of chemicals. Im a BM wrote: To further clarify, if the term "carbonate" follows the name of a cation, such as CALCIUM carbonate, sodium carbonate, or even hydrogen carbonate (carbonic acid), then "carbonate" is part of the name of a specific salt, acid, or base that contains the carbonate ion. Now you are talking about names of specific chemicals.
09-01-2025 19:35
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	THERMODYNAMICS and chemistry - Exothermic versus Endothermic Methanogenesis is a process that can be carried out by methanogenic archaea bacteria. It is an EXOthermic process that releases energy, which the bacteria use as their source for ALL their metabolic energy needs. 4H2 + CO2 = CH4 +2H2O + ENERGY released THERMODYNAMICS is applied in chemistry to calculate HOW MUCH energy is released by this chemical reaction. Does IBdaMann have the intellectual honesty to admit that Into the Night is absolutely WRONG to claim that this chemical reaction is ENDOTHERMIC? Of course he does not. Will he ever point out that all the spam posts of INANE contrarian claims made by Into the Night are a WASTE OF BANDWIDTH. Just to be sure we all understand: Science is not something that is not science. Something that is not a chemical is not a chemical. Nothing new is learned by repeating these things constantly. An empty "argument" devoid of science is a lame way to debate.
11-01-2025 19:05
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	Some CONCRETE FACTS about BUFFERING. Today's quote: AIR ITSELF IS A pH BUFFER FOR BASE CONCRETE is made by mixing gravel + sand + QUICK LIME (calcium hydroxide) As soon as the freshly mixed concrete slurry is poured and comes into contact with the atmosphere, its chemistry begins to change. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere acts as a pH BUFFER, slowly bringing the high pH of the concrete much closer to neutral. Quick lime, calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is very alkaline with very high pH. Even in the ATMOSPHERE, the carbonate system (carbon-dioxide-carbonic-acid-bicarbonate-carbonate equilibria) buffers against large changes in pH upon addition of acid or base. Carbon dioxide, CO2, "neutralizes" the added base, calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2, to form calcium carbonate, CaCO3. A strong base is turned into a weak base. Calcium carbonate is much less alkaline than calcium hydroxide, with a pH MUCH closer to neutral. The air itself is a pH buffer for base. A carbon dioxide "trap" can easily be made to remove all CO2 from the atmosphere of an enclosed space. Most often, folks use a little caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH), but lye (potassium hydroxide, KOH) works just as well. A solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide on a piece of damp rag will suck carbon dioxide right out of the air, forming sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate. "Water itself is a buffer for acid." "Dilution is buffering, moron." - ITN NOPE. Dilution is MORON BUFFERING! And water itself has very, very little capacity to act as a buffer for acid. But the same carbonate system whose most acid member, carbon dioxide, neutralizes the strong base, well, the most alkaline member of the family, carbonate, neutralizes the acid. Water itself does no buffering, but carbonate ions dissolved in water can take hydrogen ions out of solution by becoming bicarbonate ions. Back to the concrete facts about pH buffering. CO2 + Ca(OH)2 = CaCO3 + H2O So, the concrete keeps sucking carbon dioxide out of the air year after year as more and more of the calcium hydroxide gets transformed into calcium carbonate. By about a quarter century, the reaction is complete. The highly alkaline stuff has been buffered down by the atmosphere to something much less caustic. AIR IS A BUFFER FOR BASE! Thanks to carbon dioxide, a pH buffer member of The Carbonate System buffer family. THERMODYNAMICS and chemistry - Exothermic versus Endothermic Methanogenesis is a process that can be carried out by methanogenic archaea bacteria. It is an EXOthermic process that releases energy, which the bacteria use as their source for ALL their metabolic energy needs. 4H2 + CO2 = CH4 +2H2O + ENERGY released THERMODYNAMICS is applied in chemistry to calculate HOW MUCH energy is released by this chemical reaction. Does IBdaMann have the intellectual honesty to admit that Into the Night is absolutely WRONG to claim that this chemical reaction is ENDOTHERMIC? Of course he does not. Will he ever point out that all the spam posts of INANE contrarian claims made by Into the Night are a WASTE OF BANDWIDTH. Just to be sure we all understand: Science is not something that is not science. Something that is not a chemical is not a chemical. Nothing new is learned by repeating these things constantly. An empty "argument" devoid of science is a lame way to debate. Edited on 11-01-2025 19:48
14-01-2025 18:16
Im a BM ★★★★☆ (1622)	Some CONCRETE FACTS about pH BUFFERING. Today's quote: AIR ITSELF IS A pH BUFFER FOR BASE CONCRETE is made by mixing gravel + sand + QUICK LIME (calcium hydroxide) As soon as the freshly mixed concrete slurry is poured and comes into contact with the atmosphere, its chemistry begins to change. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere acts as a pH BUFFER, slowly bringing the high pH of the concrete much closer to neutral. Quick lime, calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is very alkaline with very high pH. Even in the ATMOSPHERE, the carbonate system (carbon-dioxide-carbonic-acid-bicarbonate-carbonate equilibria) buffers against large changes in pH upon addition of acid or base. Carbon dioxide, CO2, "neutralizes" the added base, calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2, to form calcium carbonate, CaCO3. A strong base is turned into a weak base. Calcium carbonate is much less alkaline than calcium hydroxide, with a pH MUCH closer to neutral. The air itself is a pH buffer for base. A carbon dioxide "trap" can easily be made to remove all CO2 from the atmosphere of an enclosed space. Most often, folks use a little caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH), but lye (potassium hydroxide, KOH) works just as well. A solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide on a piece of damp rag will suck carbon dioxide right out of the air, forming sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate. "Water itself is a buffer for acid." "Dilution is buffering, moron." - ITN NOPE. Dilution is MORON BUFFERING! And water itself has very, very little capacity to act as a buffer for acid. But the same carbonate system whose most acid member, carbon dioxide, neutralizes the strong base, well, the most alkaline member of the family, carbonate, neutralizes the acid. Water itself does no buffering, but carbonate ions dissolved in water can take hydrogen ions out of solution by becoming bicarbonate ions. Back to the concrete facts about pH buffering. CO2 + Ca(OH)2 = CaCO3 + H2O So, the concrete keeps sucking carbon dioxide out of the air year after year as more and more of the calcium hydroxide gets transformed into calcium carbonate. By about a quarter century, the reaction is complete. The highly alkaline stuff has been buffered down by the atmosphere to something much less caustic. AIR IS A BUFFER FOR BASE! Thanks to carbon dioxide, a pH buffer member of The Carbonate System buffer family. What is pH? pH = -log[H+] THEREFORE, any solution with hydrogen ion at greater than or equal to 1.0 N will have pH LESS THAN or EQUAL TO zero. THERMODYNAMICS and chemistry - Exothermic versus Endothermic Methanogenesis is a process that can be carried out by methanogenic archaea bacteria. It is an EXOthermic process that releases energy, which the bacteria use as their source for ALL their metabolic energy needs. 4H2 + CO2 = CH4 +2H2O + ENERGY released THERMODYNAMICS is applied in chemistry to calculate HOW MUCH energy is released by this chemical reaction. Does IBdaMann have the intellectual honesty to admit that Into the Night is absolutely WRONG to claim that this chemical reaction is ENDOTHERMIC? Of course he does not. Will he ever point out that all the spam posts of INANE contrarian claims made by Into the Night are a WASTE OF BANDWIDTH. Just to be sure we all understand: Science is not something that is not science. Something that is not a chemical is not a chemical. Nothing new is learned by repeating these things constantly. An empty "argument" devoid of science is a lame way to debate. And repeating that "pH cannot be equal to or less than zero." simply proves that no chemistry was ever studied in the past, and that there is no aptitude for learning any chemistry in the present or future. The Chemistry Clown literally doesn't even know what pH IS, which might help explain why it thinks that "Water itself is a buffer for acid."

Page 2 of 2

Join the debate Chemistry: Unambiguous Definitions for Rational Discussion:

Threads	Replies	Last post
Atmospheric Chemistry and Astrophysics	82	09-12-2023 00:36
Science and Atmospheric Chemistry	6	25-11-2023 20:55
Atmospheric Chemistry	7	01-11-2023 21:32
climate discussion nexus	1	04-02-2021 20:01
Definitions required to address discussions in this forum.	27	28-08-2019 06:12