Who Invented pH Scale–All About it!

What do you feel each time you taste lemon? Your face scrunches up! Your other foods, like cereals and baked foods, just taste bland. It is their pH that gives them their unique taste. Like vinegar and certain other foods, lemons have an acidic tang that gives them a puckers flavor. When you drink plain water, it tastes like nothing because of its neutral ph. 

Scientists use the pH scale to determine whether something is acidic or basic. Acidic contrasts with Basic. Alkaline is another name for “basic,” and they have the same meaning. 

Let us discover the pH scale and its invention in detail.

Who Invented the pH Scale?

The classic pH scale, which indicates whether a chemical is basic or acidic, was created by Danish chemist Soren Peter Lauritz Sorensen over 110 years ago while doing studies with beer at the renowned Carlsberg research lab in Copenhagen. 

He worked in a lab sponsored by a brewing company, and hence, his primary area of study was fermentation. He studied enzymes derived from proteins and soon discovered that the concentration of hydrogen ions affected the way these enzymes worked. To monitor these parameters in a solution, he created the pH scale.

What is the pH Scale?

The pH scale indicates how basic or acidic water is. The range is 0 to 14, where 7 is the neutral value. Acidity is indicated by a pH of less than 7, and baseness is indicated by a pH greater than 7. The relative concentration of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in water is what pH actually measures. More free hydrogen ions make water acidic, while more free hydroxyl ions make water basic. 

Since compounds in the water can change pH, pH is a useful indicator of chemical changes in the water. In pH reports, “logarithmic units” are used. Each number denotes a 10-fold variation in the water’s acidity or basicity. Generally speaking, the pH values of bases and acids are employed to quantify their strengths.

What is the Range of the pH Scale?

Solutions’ acidity or alkalinity can be determined using the pH scale. There is a rationale behind why pH values outside of the traditional range from 0 to 14. This is the only pH scale range that can exist because it depends on several potential constraints. These restrictions on measuring the overall pH of such compounds are brought about by the devices introduced to the solution and the solution itself.

The pH range is typically between 0 and 14, although it can go below zero in strong acid solutions and over 14 in extremely concentrated basic solutions. These are unique situations, though. The relative concentration of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in water is measured by pH.

If the pH = 7, then Neutral.

pH<7, then Acidic.

pH>7, then Basic.

Instances of Varying  pH in Your Body

Both the pH of blood (7.4) and the pH of human cells (6.8) are extremely near to neutral. Extreme pH values—7.0 or lower—are typically regarded to be harmful to life. But, with a pH of only one to two, the environment inside your stomach is extremely acidic. This extremely acidic state causes extreme harm to your stomach cells. Thus, new stomach cells are continually replacing the old ones in the stomach, especially the ones that are in direct touch with food and stomach acid. 

Why is pH Important in Everyday Life?

pH monitoring is widely used in a variety of industries, including wastewater treatment and the food and beverage sector, where a steady pH is required. 

Plant Growth and Animal Survival

Plant growth requires an ideal pH of 6.3 to 7.3; thus, it is vital to check the pH of the soil regularly. You can lessen the alkalinity of the soil by adding compost or manure, which are decaying organic products that contain acidic elements.

Tooth Decay

When we eat, the sugar is broken down into acids by the bacteria in our mouths. When the acid is strong enough and below 5.5 pH, it attacks and destroys the enamel on our teeth, resulting in tooth decay. 

The best defense against dental decay is a thorough mouthwash after meals. Since toothpaste has a pH of approximately 8.0, many types of toothpaste contain bases to counteract mouth acid. Therefore, using toothpaste to clean teeth can balance out too much acid in the mouth. 

Wastewater Treatment

pH is crucial for maintaining water quality and eliminating organic compounds, heavy metals, and other hazardous pollutants, whether for drinking water or wastewater treatment. 

For human consumption, drinking water should have a pH between 6.5 and 8.5. An acidic pH can lead to pipe deterioration and the accumulation and leaching of hazardous metals like lead and copper into the water supply. When the pH levels rise and become more alkaline, the water changes and takes on an off-putting flavor.

Conclusion

The pH solution is also known as the negative logarithm of hydrogen ions. The topic of pH is included in major subjects like Physics, Chemistry and even Biology. 

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