Kids Research Express

. Antimatter, matter composed of elementary particles that are, in a special sense, mirror images of the particles that make up ordinary matter as it is known on earth. Antiparticles have the same mass as their corresponding particles but have opposite electric charges or other properties related to electromagnetism. For example, the antimatter electron, or positron, has opposite electric charge and magnetic moment (a property that determines how it behaves in a magnetic field), but is identical in all other respects to the electron. The antimatter equivalent of the chargeless neutron, on the other hand, differs in having a magnetic moment of opposite sign (magnetic moment is another electromagnetic property). In all of the other parameters involved in the dynamical properties of elementary particles, such as mass, spin, and partial decay, antiparticles are identical with their corresponding particles. The existence of antiparticles was first proposed by the British physicist Paul Adr

. Apatite (Greek apate, “deception”), mineral so named because it resembles various other minerals for which it might be mistaken. It consists chiefly of phosphate of lime. Apatite is a distinct mineral of composition in which some or all of the fluorine may be replaced by chlorine (chlorapatite). The mineral crystallizes in the hexagonal system (see Crystal ) and has a hardness of 5 and a specific gravity of 3.2. When pure, apatite is colorless and transparent, but it may exhibit various degrees of color and opacity. These mineral phosphates of lime were often used in the preparation of fertilizers, but they have been replaced by phosphate rock.

. Aqua Regia (Latin, “royal water”), mixture of concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acids, containing one part by volume of nitric acid to three parts of hydrochloric acid. Aqua regia was used by the alchemists and its name is derived from its ability to dissolve the so-called noble metals, particularly gold, which are inert to either of the acids used separately. It is still occasionally used in the chemical laboratory for dissolving gold and platinum.

. Avogadro’s Number, the number of molecules that exist in one mole, or gram molecular weight, of any substance. One gram molecular weight is the weight of a substance, in grams, that is numerically equivalent to the dimensionless molecular weight of that substance (see Periodic Law ). The number of molecules in one gram molecular weight has been determined to be approximately molecules, as established by various methods currently available to physical chemists. The Avogadro number is named in honor of the Italian physicist Amedeo Avogadro, who postulated in 1811 that equal volumes of gases, at equivalent temperatures and pressures, contain the same number of molecules (see Avogadro's Law ). The theory was significant in the development of chemistry , but the number itself was not calculated until the later 19th century, when the concept was extended to include not only gases but all chemicals. Volume considerations do not apply to liquids or solids, but Avogadro's number itse

. Avogadro’s Law, fundamental law of chemistry stating that under identical conditions of temperature and pressure , equal volumes of gases contain an equal number of molecules. The law was first proposed as a hypothesis by the Italian physicist Amedeo Avogadro in 1811. Italian chemists and physicists continued to develop this hypothesis, and in the 1850s, largely through the efforts of the Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro , Avogadro's law was universally accepted.

. Catalysis, alteration of the speed of a chemical reaction, through the presence of an additional substance, known as a catalyst, that remains chemically unchanged by the reaction. Enzymes , which are among the most powerful catalysts, play an essential role in living organisms, where they accelerate reactions that otherwise would require temperatures that would destroy most of the organic matter. A catalyst in a solution with—or in the same phase as—the reactants is called a homogeneous catalyst. The catalyst combines with one of the reactants to form an intermediate compound that reacts more readily with the other reactant. The catalyst, however, does not influence the equilibrium of the reaction, because the decomposition of the products into the reactants is speeded up to a similar degree. An example of homogeneous catalysis is the formation of sulfur trioxide by the reaction of sulfur dioxide with oxygen, in which nitrogen dioxide serves as a catalyst. Under extreme heat, sulfur

. Battery, also electric cell, device that converts chemical energy into electricity. Strictly speaking, a battery consists of two or more cells connected in series or parallel, but the term is also used for single cells. All cells consist of a liquid, paste, or solid electrolyte and a positive electrode, and a negative electrode. The electrolyte is an ionic conductor; one of the electrodes will react, producing electrons, while the other will accept electrons. When the electrodes are connected to a device to be powered, called a load, an electrical current flows. Batteries in which the chemicals cannot be reconstituted into their original form once the energy has been converted (that is, batteries that have been discharged) are called primary cells or voltaic cells. Batteries in which the chemicals can be reconstituted by passing an electric current through them in the direction opposite that of normal cell operation are called secondary cells, rechargeable cells, storage cells, or ac