An Introduction to pH

 What is pH?

pH, quantitative measure of the acidity or basicity of aqueous or other liquid solutions. The term, widely used in biology, agronomy, and chemistry, translates the values of the concentration of the hydrogen ion. pH is an important quantity that reflects the chemical conditions of a solution. 

Simply put, pH measures the concentration of hydrogen ions in water. An ion is an atom or molecule that has gained or lost electrons, and thus has a negative or positive charge. The pH scale measures the concentration of those charges, assigning them a value from 0 to 14. Pure water at room temperature (77 degrees Fahrenheit), for example, has a pH of 7.0 and is considered neutral. Water with a pH below 7 is defined as an acid and above 7 is an alkaline. Thus, a pH measurement of 0 represents the strongest acid, and a pH value of 14 represents the strongest alkaline.

The pH scale was created by Danish chemist S. P. L. Sorensen some 100 years ago. This mathematical formula measures the power of hydrogen in a solution and defines, in numeric terms, the properties of water. Still used today in laboratory's all over the world, Sorensen’s pH scale is used to measure the strength or weakness of acids and alkalis, the most important chemical compounds used by chemists and scientists. 

Each whole pH value below 7 is 10 times more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is 10 times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 x 10) more acidic than pH 6. The same holds true for pH values higher than 7, each of which is 10 times more alkaline than the next lower whole value. For example, pH 10 is 10 times more alkaline than pH 9 and 100 times (10 x 10) more alkaline than pH 8.

 pH values impact our lives in ways we may not realize or think about very often. From the water we drink to the food we eat to the medicines we take, pH measurement is critical. Farmers rely on pH testing to maintain quality soil that will produce the most abundant and healthy crops. It is also critical in the management and safe disposal of wastewater produced by industrial plants.

You can find all of our pH Papers and pH Strips here at Level7Chemical.com!

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