Definitions

• Arrhenius: According to this definition developed by the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius, an acid is a substance that increases the concentration of hydrogen ions (H⁺), which are carried as hydronium ions (H₃O⁺) when dissolved in water, while bases are substances that increase the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH^-). This definition limits acids and bases to substances that can dissolve in water. Around 1800, many French chemists, including Antoine Lavoisier, incorrectly believed that all acids contained oxygen. Indeed the modern German word for oxygen is Sauerstoff (lit. sour substance), as is the Afrikaans word for oxygen suurstof, with the same meaning. English chemists, including Sir Humphry Davy, at the same time believed all acids contained hydrogen. Arrhenius used this belief to develop this definition of acid.
• Brønsted-Lowry: According to this definition, an acid is a proton (hydrogen nucleus) donor and a base is a proton acceptor. The acid is said to be dissociated after the proton is donated. An acid and the corresponding base are referred to as conjugate acid-base pairs. Brønsted and Lowry independently formulated this definition, which includes water-insoluble substances not in the Arrhenius definition. Acids according to this definition are variously referred to as Brønsted acids, Brønsted-Lowry acids, proton acids, protic acids, or protonic acids.
• Solvent-system definition: According to this definition, an acid is a substance that, when dissolved in an autodissociating solvent, increases the concentration of the solvonium cations, such as H₃O⁺ in water, NH₄⁺ in liquid ammonia, NO⁺ in liquid N₂O₄, SbCl₂⁺ in SbCl₃, etc. Base is defined as the substance that increases the concentration of the solvate anions, respectively OH^-, NH₂^-, NO₃^-, or SbCl₄^-. This definition extends acid-base reactions to non-aqueous systems and even some aprotic systems, where no hydrogen nuclei are involved in the reactions. This definition is not absolute, a compound acting as acid in one solvent may act as a base in another.
• Lewis: According to this definition developed by Gilbert N. Lewis, an acid is an electron-pair acceptor and a base is an electron-pair donor. (These are frequently referred to as "Lewis acids" and "Lewis bases," and are electrophiles and nucleophiles, respectively, in organic chemistry; Lewis bases are also ligands in coordination chemistry.) Lewis acids include substances with no transferable protons (ie H⁺ hydrogen ions), such as iron(III) chloride, and hence the Lewis definition of an acid has wider application than the Brønsted-Lowry definition. In fact, the term Lewis acid is often used to exclude protic (Brønsted-Lowry) acids. The Lewis definition can also be explained with molecular orbital theory. In general, an acid can receive an electron pair in its lowest unoccupied orbital (LUMO) from the highest occupied orbital (HOMO) of a base. That is, the HOMO from the base and the LUMO from the acid combine to a bonding molecular orbital.

Although not the most general theory, the Brønsted-Lowry definition is the most widely used definition. The strength of an acid may be understood by this definition by the stability of hydronium and the solvated conjugate base upon dissociation. Increasing or decreasing stability of the conjugate base will increase or decrease the acidity of a compound. This concept of acidity is used frequently for organic acids such as carboxylic acid. The molecular orbital description, where the unfilled proton orbital overlaps with a lone pair, is connected to the Lewis definition.

Properties

Bronsted-Lowry acids:

• Are generally sour in taste
• Strong or concentrated acids often produce a stinging feeling on mucous membranes
• Change the color of pH indicators as follows: turn blue litmus and methyl orange red, turn phenolphthalein colorless
• React with metals to produce a metal salt and hydrogen
• React with metal carbonates to produce water, CO₂ and a salt
• React with a base to produce a salt and water
• React with a metal oxide to produce water and a salt
• Conduct electricity, depending on the degree of dissociation
• Produce solvonium ions, such as oxonium (H₃O⁺) ions in water

Acids are/can be gases, liquids, or solids. Respective examples (at 20 °C and 1 atm) are hydrogen chloride, sulfuric acid and citric acid. Solutions of acids in water are liquids, such as hydrochloric acid - an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. At 20 °C and 1 atm, linear carboxylic acids are liquids up to nonanoic acid (nine carbon atoms) and solids beginning from decanoic acid (ten carbon atoms). Aromatic carboxylic acids, the simplest being benzoic acid, are solids.

Strong acids and many concentrated acids, being corrosive, can be dangerous; causing severe burns for even minor contact. Generally, acid burns on the skin are treated by rinsing the affected area abundantly with running water, followed up with immediate medical attention. In the case of highly concentrated mineral acids such as sulfuric acid or nitric acid, the acid should first be wiped off, otherwise the exothermic mixing of the acid and the water could cause thermal burns. Particular acids may also be dangerous for reasons not related to their acidity. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) can be consulted for detailed information on dangers and handling instructions.

Nomenclature

Classical naming system:

Chemical characteristics

HA(aq) + H₂O ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + A^-(aq)

The acidity constant (or acid dissociation constant) is the equilibrium constant for the reaction of HA with water:

$K\_a\; =\; frac\{[mbox\{H\}\_3mbox\{O\}^+][mbox\{A\}^-]\}\{[mbox\{HA\}]\}$

Strong acids have large K_a values (i.e. the reaction equilibrium lies far to the right; the acid is almost completely dissociated to H₃O⁺ and A^-). Strong acids include the heavier hydrohalic acids: hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrobromic acid (HBr), and hydroiodic acid (HI). (However, hydrofluoric acid, HF, is relatively weak.) For example, the K_a value for hydrochloric acid (HCl) is 10⁷.

Weak acids have small K_a values (i.e. at equilibrium significant amounts of HA and A⁻ exist together in solution; modest levels of H₃O⁺ are present; the acid is only partially dissociated). For example, the K_a value for acetic acid is 1.8 x 10^-5. Most organic acids are weak acids. Oxoacids, which tend to contain central atoms in high oxidation states surrounded by oxygen may be quite strong or weak. Nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and perchloric acid are all strong acids, whereas nitrous acid, sulfurous acid and hypochlorous acid are all weak.

Note on terms used:

• The terms "hydrogen ion" and "proton" are used interchangeably; both refer to H⁺.
• In aqueous solution, the water is protonated to form hydronium ion, H₃O⁺(aq). This is often abbreviated as H⁺(aq) even though the symbol is not chemically correct.
• The strength of an acid is measured by its acid dissociation constant (K_a) or equivalently its pK_a (pK_a= - log(K_a)).
• The pH of a solution is a measurement of the concentration of hydronium. This will depend on the concentration and nature of acids and bases in solution.

Monoprotic acids

HA(aq) + H₂O(l) ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + A⁻(aq)         K_a

Common examples of monoprotic acids in mineral acids include hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric acid (HNO₃). On the other hand, for organic acids the term mainly indicates the presence of one carboxyl group and sometimes these acids are known as monocarboxylic acid. Examples in organic acids include formic acid (HCOOH), acetic acid (CH₃COOH) and benzoic acid (C₆H₅COOH).

Polyprotic acids

A diprotic acid (here symbolized by H₂A) can undergo one or two dissociations depending on the pH. Each dissociation has its own dissociation constant, K_a1 and K_a2.

H₂A(aq) + H₂O(l) ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + HA⁻(aq)       K_a1

HA⁻(aq) + H₂O(l) ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + A²⁻(aq)       K_a2

The first dissociation constant is typically greater than the second; i.e., K_a1 > K_a2 . For example, sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) can donate one proton to form the bisulfate anion (HSO₄⁻), for which K_a1 is very large; then it can donate a second proton to form the sulfate anion (SO₄²⁻), wherein the K_a2 is intermediate strength. The large K_a1 for the first dissociation makes sulfuric a strong acid. In a similar manner, the weak unstable carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) can lose one proton to form bicarbonate anion (HCO₃⁻) and lose a second to form carbonate anion (CO₃²⁻). Both K_a values are small, but K_a1 > K_a2 .

A triprotic acid (H₃A) can undergo one, two, or three dissociations and has three dissociation constants, where K_a1 > K_a2 > K_a3 .

H₃A(aq) + H₂O(l) ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + H₂A⁻(aq)        K_a1

H₂A⁻(aq) + H₂O(l) ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + HA²⁻(aq)       K_a2

HA²⁻(aq) + H₂O(l) ⇌ H₃O⁺(aq) + A³⁻(aq)         K_a3

An inorganic example of a triprotic acid is orthophosphoric acid (H₃PO₄), usually just called phosphoric acid. All three protons can be successively lost to yield H₂PO₄⁻, then HPO₄²⁻, and finally PO₄³⁻ , the orthophosphate ion, usually just called phosphate. An organic example of a triprotic acid is citric acid, which can successively lose three protons to finally form the citrate ion. Even though the positions of the protons on the original molecule may be equivalent, the successive K_a values will differ since it is energetically less favorable to lose a proton if the conjugate base is more negatively charged.

Neutralization

Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base, producing a salt and neutralized base; for example, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide form sodium chloride and water:

HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) → H₂O(l) + NaCl(aq)

Neutralization is the basis of titration, where a pH indicator shows equivalence point when the equivalent number of moles of a base have been added to an acid. It is often wrongly assumed that neutralization should result in a solution with pH 7.0, which is only the case with similar acid and base strengths during a reaction.

Neutralization with a base weaker than the acid results in a weakly acidic salt. An example is the weakly acidic ammonium chloride, which is produced from the strong acid hydrogen chloride and the weak base ammonia. Conversely, neutralizing a weak acid with a strong base gives a weakly basic salt, e.g. sodium fluoride from hydrogen fluoride and sodium hydroxide.

Weak acid/weak base equilibria

Solutions of weak acids and salts of their conjugate bases form buffer solutions.

Applications of acids

There are numerous uses for acids. Acids are often used to remove rust and other corrosion from metals in a process known as pickling. They may be used as an electrolyte in a wet cell battery, such as sulfuric acid in a car battery.

Strong acids, sulfuric acid in particular, are widely used in mineral processing. For example, phosphate minerals react with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid for the production of phosphate fertilizers, and zinc is produced by dissolving zinc oxide into sulfuric acid, purifying the solution and electrowinning.

In the chemical industry, acids react in neutralization reactions to produce salts. For example, nitric acid reacts with ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer. Additionally, carboxylic acids can be esterified with alcohols, to produce esters.

Acids are used as catalysts; for example, sulfuric acid is used in very large quantities in the alkylation process to produce gasoline. Strong acids, such as sulfuric, phosphoric and hydrochloric acids also effect dehydration and condensation reactions.

Acids are used as additives to drinks and foods, as they alter their taste and serve as preservatives. Phosphoric acid, for example, is a component of cola drinks.

Biological occurrence

Common acids

Mineral acids

• Solutions of hydrogen halides, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrobromic acid (HBr)
• Sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄)
• Nitric acid (HNO₃)
• Phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄)
• Chromic acid (H₂CrO₄)

Sulfonic acids

• Methanesulfonic acid (aka mesylic acid) (MeSO₃H)
• Ethanesulfonic acid (aka esylic acid) (EtSO₃H)
• Benzenesulfonic acid (aka besylic acid) (PhSO₃H)
• Toluenesulfonic acid (aka tosylic acid, or (C₆H₄(CH₃) (SO₃H))

Carboxylic acids

• Formic acid
• Acetic acid
• Citric acid

Vinylogous carboxylic acids

• Ascorbic acid
• Meldrum's acid

References

• Listing of strengths of common acids and bases
• Zumdahl, Chemistry, 4th Edition.

See also

• Acid value
• Acid salt
• Base
• Basic salt
• Binary acid
• Vitriol
• Acid-base extraction Environment
• Acid rain
• Ocean acidification

External links

• Science Aid: Acids and Bases Information for High School students
• Curtipot: Acid-Base equilibria diagrams, pH calculation and titration curves simulation and analysis - freeware
• A summary of the Properties of Acids for the beginning chemistry student
• The UN ECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution

In computer science, ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that database transactions are processed reliably. In the context of databases, a single logical operation on the data is called a transaction.

An example of a transaction is a transfer of funds from one account to another, even though it might consist of multiple individual operations (such as debiting one account and crediting another).

Atomicity

Atomicity refers to the ability of the DBMS to guarantee that either all of the tasks of a transaction are performed or none of them are. For example, the transfer of funds can be completed or it can fail for a multitude of reasons, but atomicity guarantees that one account won't be debited if the other is not credited. Atomicity states that database modifications must follow an “all or nothing” rule. Each transaction is said to be “atomic.” If one part of the transaction fails, the entire transaction fails. It is critical that the database management system maintain the atomic nature of transactions in spite of any DBMS, operating system or hardware failure. Atomicity is obtained when an attribute can no longer be broken down any further.

Consistency

The Consistency property ensures that the database remains in a consistent state before the start of the transaction and after the transaction is over (whether successful or not).

Consistency states that only valid data will be written to the database. If, for some reason, a transaction is executed that violates the database’s consistency rules, the entire transaction will be rolled back and the database will be restored to a state consistent with those rules. On the other hand, if a transaction successfully executes, it will take the database from one state that is consistent with the rules to another state that is also consistent with the rules.

Isolation

Isolation refers to the requirement that other operations cannot access or see the data in an intermediate state during a transaction. This constraint is required to maintain the performance as well as the consistency between transactions in a DBMS system.

Durability

Implementation

ACID suggests that the database be able to perform all of these operations at once. In fact this is difficult to arrange. There are two popular families of techniques: write ahead logging and shadow paging. In both cases, locks must be acquired on all information that is updated, and depending on the implementation, possibly on all data that is being read as well. In write ahead logging, atomicity is guaranteed by ensuring that information about all changes is written to a log before it is written to the database. That allows the database to return to a consistent state in the event of a crash. In shadowing, updates are applied to a copy of the database, and the new copy is activated when the transaction commits. The copy refers to unchanged parts of the old version of the database, rather than being an entire duplicate.

Until recently almost all databases relied upon locking to provide ACID capabilities. This means that a lock must always be acquired before processing data in a database, even on read operations. Maintaining a large number of locks, however, results in substantial overhead as well as hurting concurrency. If user A is running a transaction that has read a row of data that user B wants to modify, for example, user B must wait until user A's transaction is finished.

An alternative to locking is multiversion concurrency control, in which the database maintains separate copies of any data that is modified. This allows users to read data without acquiring any locks. Going back to the example of user A and user B, when user A's transaction gets to data that user B has modified, the database is able to retrieve the exact version of that data that existed when user A started their transaction. This ensures that user A gets a consistent view of the database even if other users are changing data that user A needs to read. A natural implementation of this idea results in a relaxation of the isolation property, namely snapshot isolation.

It is difficult to guarantee ACID properties in a network environment. Network connections might fail, or two users might want to use the same part of the database at the same time.

Two-phase commit is typically applied in distributed transactions to ensure that each participant in the transaction agrees on whether the transaction should be committed or not.

Care must be taken when running transactions in parallel. Two phase locking is typically applied to guarantee full isolation.

See also

• Open Systems Interconnection
• Transactional NTFS

References

• Gray, Jim "The transaction concept: Virtues and limitations". Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Very Large Data Bases, pages 144–154. Retrieved on 2006-11-09..

Jim Gray & Andreas Reuter, Distributed Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques, Morgan Kaufman 1993. ISBN 1558601902

ACiD Productions (ACiD) is an underground digital art group. Founded in 1990, the group originally specialized in ANSI artwork for BBSes. More recently, they have extended their reach into other graphical media and computer software development.

History

ACiD Productions was founded in 1990 as ANSI Creators in Demand by five members: RaD Man, Shadow Demon, Grimm, The Beholder, and Phantom. Their work originally concentrated in ANSI and ASCII art, but the group later branched out into other artistic media such as music tracking, demo coding, and multimedia software development (e.g. image viewers).

In the mid-1990s, ACiD created subsidiary groups responsible for these broader areas. For example, Remorse is the official ACiD sub-label responsible for ASCII art and other text-based graphics. Similarly, pHluid is responsible for module tracking and music production.

Today, ACiD focuses largely on the preservation of digital art history, talk radio news, and sale of their DVD-based artscene archives.

Works

ACiD has produced a variety of well-received works and services. An incomplete list follows:

Demos

• " Out of Sight, Out of Mind"

Image viewers

• ACiD View
• SimpleXB
• RemorseView

Image editors

• ACiDDraw
• Empathy
• PabloDraw

Metadata protocols and binary image standard

• SAUCE
• XBin

Music disks

• pHluid

Disk magazines

• The Product
• Lancelot II
• ACiDnews

Radio programming

• The ARTS (news/talk radio)
• pHluid Radio (music)
• ACiD Radio (music)

See also

• ANSI art
• ASCII art
• List of text editors (ASCII art section)
• Artscene groups

External links

• ACiD Productions (Official site)
• All-time memberlist (1990-2003)
• Dark Domain The ACiD Artpacks Archive on DVD (ISBN 0-9746537-0-5)
• The ARTS ACiD's Artscene Radio Talk ShowACiD tools downloads
• ACiDDraw for DOS download page at ACiD.org
• ACiD View for Windows An image viewer for Microsoft Windows which supports several formats, including ANSI art and ANSI animation; includes source code; compatible with Windows 9X