| Adhesive, rubber solution | cow gum, contact or shoe glue |
| Adhesive, woodworking | wood glue, e.g. "Aquadhere" |
| Adhesive, paper glue | "Bostik" |
| Adhesive, cyanoacrylate | "Super Glue" BE CAREFUL! Do not squirt in the eye! |
| Agar, powder |
agar nutrient, agar agar, isinglass, Macassar gum, gelatinous substance, E406 Agar (from red algae) (vegetable gum) (thickener, emulsifier) |
| Albumen, albumin | egg white (Also serum albumins in blood and alpha-lactalbumin milk, one of the globular proteins) |
| Alkaloid | basic organic nitrogen compounds in plants with powerful action on animals, e.g. nicotine, morphine, quinine, strychnine |
| Alkyd
resin |
adhesive and coating resins made from glycerol and unsaturated organic acids as rigid cross-linked polymers |
| Almond oil |
from almond nuts (for cleaning bone and ivory) |
| Antacids |
Antacids increase pH in stomach contents as medicine for reflux, e.g. sodium hydrogen carbonate NaHCO3 , magnesium oxide MgO, |
| Anti-bumping granules | boiling chips (fused alumina, flower pot bits) |
| Arachidic acid | C19H39COOH, found in peanuts (groundnuts) |
| Ascorbic acid | L-ascorbic acid tablets, vitamin C, food |
| Asphalt | bitumen, tar, pitch, black plastic solid final residues left
after volatile substances removed by fractional distillation |
| Atropine | Hallucinogenic drugs, mescaline, psilocybin, scopolamine "truth drug" (hyoscine) LSD, tryptamine, cocaine, THC cannabis, widen pupils for eye examination, atropine sulfate in anticholinergic medicines |
| Barbiturates | pyrimidine-2,4,6(1H, 3H, 5H)-trione, barbituric acid |
| Beeswax | white
and yellow, food additive E901, glazing agent, release agent, for
craft, modelling, ointments, polishes, from bee honeycomb mixture
includes the palmitic acid ester C15H31COOC30H61 |
| Benzoic acid | benzene carboxylic acid C6H5COOH, preservative, in creams for treating haemorrhoids |
| Bottled gas |
Gas in metal cylinders, under pressure, e.g. O2
and N2, and liquefied under pressure, e.g. C4H10.
UK standard colours on cylinder shoulders (EN 1089-3): black (N2),
blue (N2O), brown (He), dark green (Ar), grey (CO2),
light blue (oxidizing gas), maroon (C2H2), red
(flammable gas), white (O2), yellow (toxic gas and corrosive
gas). See internet for colours in your country, e.g. EU
Compressed Gas Cylinder colour codes. |
| Brass | filings, brass filings (brass is mainly alloys of Cu and Zn,
but Al, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sn and Pb may be added) |
| Bronze | "copper" coin (bronze is mainly alloys of Cu and Sn but some
may not contain Sn, e.g. aluminium bronze, manganese bronze) |
| t-Butyl alcohol | 2-methylpropan-2-ol, 2-methyl-2-propanol (CH3)3COH, tertiary butyl alcohol |
| Camphor |
C10H16O (synthetic, aromatic) highly flammable, natural camphor from camphor laurel tree Cinnamomum camphora (medicine, repels clothes moths and cats, used to make gunpowder and celluloid) DL-Camphor FLAM for moth balls, lotions, Celluloid is cellulose nitrate plasticized with camphor, use camphor instead of moth balls to protect clothes from moths |
| Casein | milk casein, phosphoprotein thermoplastic polymer, for insulators, buttons, handles, adhesives, artist's priming paint |
| Cellophane | modified cellulose (trade name, outer cigarette packet) (name
from Cellulose + diaphane [French: transparent] |
| Celluloid | (flammable thermoplastic) nitrocellulose + camphor, ping-pong ball, spectacle frame |
| Chloramphenicol | broad acting powerful antibiotic, natural and synthetic, may have severe side effects |
| Clathrate | Inclusion compound where the guest molecule is in a lattice cage formed by the host molecule, e.g. Dianin's compound, 4-p-hydroxyphenyl-2,2,4-trimethylchroman |
| Clay | (al silicate, China clay, pipe clay) kaolin, kaolinite,
Plasticine (modelling clay, plastilina) |
| Clinistix strip | test for glucose, test for (+) glucose in urine, indicator substance O-toluidine |
| Clove oil, eugenol |
oil
of cloves, eugenol, 2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl)pkenol, an allyl benzene
from dried flower buds (inhibits
mould, relieves toothache, insecticide, cooking ingredient, spice,
Indonesian clove and tobacco cigarettes, fish killer, herbicide) toxic
at low concentrations (eugenol also in nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaf) |
| Collagen | insoluble fibrous protein in connective tissue, polypeptide
chain mainly glycine and proline, gristle, used for sausage casings |
| Collodion |
Cellulose nitrate dissolved in
a mixture of ethanol or diethylether, used as a medicinal coating |
| Copolymer | polymer from linking different monomer types, e.g. cocaine, curare, caffeine, piperine |
| Cornflour |
powdery starch made from maize and used as a cooking thickener, in USA "cornstarch", in Australia "wheaten starch" |
| Coumarin |
(C9H6O2) (1,2-benzopyrone) benzofuranoids, benzopyranoids, in perfumes, used to make warfarin a medical anticoagulant and rat poison |
| Creosote |
wood creosote, mixture of phenols of wood tar:
(disinfectant, cough medicine,
diarrhoea medicine, preservative, antiseptic) coal tar creosote: (wood preservative, fungicide, skin diseases, insecticide) may cause skin cancer |
| Cryolite | Sodium aluminium fluoride, Na3AlF6, for craft |
| Cyanuric acid | (CNOH)3, H3C3N3O3,
for swimming pools, purifying tablets, white soluble crystals, solution
converts to urea |
| Detergent | washing up detergent, "Teepol", "Trix" |
| Disinfectant | phenolic disinfectant |
| DMSO | dimethyyl sulfoxide (CH3)2SO, from wood pulp, oyster-garlic taste (irritant, penetrates skin, horse liniment, anti-inflammatory, paint stripper) |
| Dessicants |
drying agents, e.g. anhydrous calcium chloride, anhydrous calcium sulfate, concentrated sulfuric acid, phosphorus (V) oxide, sodium hydroxide lump, calcium oxide lump (lime), silica gel, glass desiccators used to dry chemicals in the laboratory may have tap in the lid to increase evaporation by decreasing pressure in the desiccator, can also preserve organic materials by desiccation, |
| Emulsion | (hair wave lotion, water glass, mayonnaise) |
| Eucalyptus oil |
eucalyptol,
C10H18O, 1,8-cineal, cyclic ether, monoterpene
(paint stripper,
adhesive solvent, flavouring, fragrance, mouth wash,
anti-inflammatory, releases
vapours for medical use) |
| Evening
primrose oil |
Oenothera biennis, common evening primrose, garden herb [contains gamma linoleic acid] Onagraceae |
| Fats, animal fat |
(lard, tallow, suet) dripping, lard, soap |
| Feldspars | Aluminium silicate, KAlSi3O8, for craft |
| Fire extinguisher | dry powder, fire blanket fibreglass, 900 mm, |
| Flour | (flour + NaHCO3 + phosphates) self-raising flour |
| Fuller's earth |
high calcium clay earth, mainly montmorillonite,
absorb grease from raw wool (wool
relaxant, shrink and unshrink woollen clothing, decolorise, filter,
purify oils and greases) fulling is to clean and thicken cloth by
removing impurities |
| Gas, LPG |
liquefied petroleum gas, includes propane and
butane |
| Gas, butane gas | C4H10, 93.2 MJm-3, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied gas, bottled gas is liquefied butane, Calor gas |
| Gas, coal gas |
coal gas (approx. 88 MJ /kg) approx. 50%
hydrogen gas, 35% methane, 8% carbon
monoxide (poisonous gas ), hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen
sulfide (for a "safety smell"), lately synthetic natural gas, SNG, is
made from coal or petroleum. |
| Gas, methane gas | CH4, natural gas (55.6 MJ / kg), marsh gas, "fire damp" in coal mines |
| Gas, producer gas |
Air gas. Similar to water gas, formed by
passing air and steam over hot carbon. |
| Gas, propane gas | C3H8, a bottled gas, a liquefied
petroleum
gas (LPG) |
| Gas, town gas | town gas is the domestic gas, previously a mixture of
coal gas and carburetted water
gas, energy density about 20 MJm-3, about half of natural
gas,
now mostly superseded by
natural gas, |
| Gas, water gas |
Water gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and
hydrogen gas. Water gas forms
when steam passes over hot coke or carbon. |
| Gelatin, gelatine | from collagen protein by boiling animal tissues, used as a glue, jelly crystals, e.g. puragel, photographic emulsions, adhesives |
| Goanna oil | from goanna fat, Varanus sp, protected in Australia (lubricant, liniment, arthritis, muscle soreness) |
| Glycoside | natural compound linked to glucose, which are easily broken off |
| Gutta-percha | latex from Palaquium sp., Sapotaceae family, same chemical as natural rubber, polyisoprene, but with trans not cis bonding |
| Hair, keratin | Keratin is fibrous proteins occurring in hair, wool, feathers, hooves and horns, imbedded in a matrix that makes them strong and elastic. The proteins contain sulfur and are held together by disulfide bonds. |
| Ink |
Indian ink, Chinese ink, mixture of lampblack, carbon black, and bone black |
| Ink, ball pen refill | "Biro" or "Bic" refill, Indian ink |
| Iron chromite | chromite for craft |
| Isocyanuric acid | chlorine stabilizer for swimming pools, administered as sodium dichloroisocyanurate granules or trichloroisocyanuric acid tablets |
| Javelle
water |
Aqueous solution of potassium or sodium hypochlorite, used as a disinfectant and bleaching agent. |
| Lavender oil |
lavendar flower oil, mainly linalyl acetate,
from Lavandula latifolia (insect repellent, dog inhibitor, air
freshener, pain relief) |
| Lead antimonate | Naples yellow for craft, antimonate of lead |
| Lemon oil |
oil from lemon peel, D-limonene, a terpene
(furniture polish, inhibits
spiders and insects, stain remover) |
| Linseed oil | from seeds of flax Linum usitatissimum, glycerides of oleic acid and other unsaturated acids. Used to condition and seal bare wood in putty, paints, varnishes, for cricket bats, linoleum, outdoor furniture. |
| Liver of sulfur | Alkaline mixture of
mainly potassium polysulfides that turns silver black. |
| Metaldehyde |
(FLAM -27oC, HARM 1332) (CH3CHO)4, C4O4H4(CH3)4, acetaldehyde ("meta" fuel, firelighter, canned heat, snail bait, Esbit, Blitzem) (ethanal tetramer formed by polymerization of ethanal, acetaldehyde) |
| Milk |
cow's milk (rotten milk for removing ink stains) |
| Naphthalene | C10H8 (FLAM 1334) flakes, " mothballs", m.p. 80.5oC, toxic to humans in large doses. |
| Neat's foot
oil |
Oil from boiled cattle hooves
used as a leather conditioner for saddles, boots, baseball gloves
("neat " is old word for cattle) |
| Oil, vegetable | castor, linseed, olive vegetable oil, salad oil |
| Oil, mineral | lubricating light oil, diesel oil |
| Oil, crude oil | petroleum distillate oil |
| Oil, light | sewing machine oil, WD-40 penetrating oil to prevent corrosion |
| Oil, paraffin, kerosine | (UK) fp 60oC (USA kerosene) (kerosine, kerosene, "kero", also "paraffin oil", is a petroleum fraction containing a mixture of hydrocarbons with 11 or 12 carbon atoms, b.p. 160oC to 250oC) |
| PABA | par-amino benzoic acid, cosmetics |
| Paris Green | Paris Green (Scheele's Green, Schweinfurth Green) is a double compound of copper arsenite and copper acetate, copper ethanoato-arsenate. It is a bright blue-green pigment It was used as an agricultural chemical, wood preservative and ship anti-fouling application. However, it is very poisonous and nowadays is thought to be too dangerous to use. |
| Pennyroyal oil |
oil of pennyroyal (deters moths and fleas), Mentha pulegium, pennyroyal, Lamiaceae |
| Perspex |
Also: "Lucite" (trade names) polymethyl methacrylate, perspex chips (perspex stirring rod) |
| Petroleum jelly | Petroleum jelly, soft paraffin, white petrolatum, "Vaseline",
saturated semi-solid of crystalline and liquid hydrocarbons,
carbon numbers < C25, made by dewaxing paraffinic residual oil,
liquid paraffin is a liquid form of petroleum jelly, mixture of
alkanes > 12 C atoms / molecule, colourless, tasteless, mild
laxative |
| Plastics | "Bakelite" (electric plugs, saucepan handles) nylon (synthetic fabric, "Dacron", "Terylene") polypropylene (plastic bucket) |
| Plastic | PVC (pipes, drink bottles, records) polythene (plastic insulators, plastic bags, bin liners) |
| Plastic | polymethyl methacrylate (perspex rod) polystyrene, polyphenylethene ("Styrofoam", ball pens) |
| Polyester resin | Polymer from condensation reaction of a polyhydric alcohol
and a polybasic acid, forms ester
link, e.g. linear polyester in "Terylene, unsaturated polyester in
fibre-glass resin |
| Putty | painter's putty, glazier's putty, paste of calcium carbonate
(whiting) and
linseed oil, sometimes white lead. used as a sealant or filler in
glazing, sealing glass into frames |
| Rhodamine dyes | from condensation of phthalic anhydride with m-dialkylaminophenols. |
| Resin, ion exchange | anion exchange resin, zeolite ("Permutit") |
| Rotenoids | natural substances, have a cis-fused tetrahydrochromeno [3,4-b] chromene nucleus, e.g. rotenone insecticide from Derris sp. |
| Safety face shield | (chemical, anti splash face shield) |
| Safety glasses | (polycarbonate lens glasses) |
| Safety gloves rubber | (small/medium/large rubber gloves) (rubber, caoutchouc) |
| Safety, eye-wash bottle | eye-wash cup |
| Safety, first-aid kit | portable first-aid kit |
| Safety apron, PVC | (resist strong acids) |
| Serotonin | 5-hydroxytryptamine, affects nerves in the brain, moods, dopamine and LSD affect the level of serotonin |
| Shellac |
From resinous excretions of Coccus lacca or Tachardia lacca scale insects (varnish, polish, sealing wax, French polish is solution in methylated spirit) E904 |
| Silicones |
Silicones: polymeric unbranched siloxanes, formula (-OSiR2-)n
(R not equal to H) Silicone grease, high vacuum grease, "Volasil" is octamethylcyclotetrasilocane, the silicone polymer in "Silly Putty" is polyborosiloxane. |
| Solder, soft | Pb and Sn alloys, resin-cored solder, wire form |
| Soldering flux | soldering resin |
| Starch | soluble laundry starch, amylum, (C6H10O5)n,
farina, (test for iodine, forms blue colour) Soluble starch, corn starch, tapioca starch, sorghum gum, amylodextrin, amylopectin, amylum, arrowroot starch |
| Sulfides | RSR (R not equal to H) thioethers, e.g. diallyl sulfide (garlic smell) |
| Sulfonic acids | HS(=O)2OH / sulfonate, organic
compound with functional group (-SO3H) / (-SO3-
) |
| Sulfonium compounds | R3S+, e.g. trimethylsulfonium chloride [(CH3)3S]+Cl- |
| Tartar
emetic |
Crystalline compound, K(SbO)C4H4O6.1/2H2O,
poisonous but used as
expectorant and to treat schistosomiasis. |
| Talcum powder | hydrated magnesium silicate (French chalk) serpentine
(meerschaum pipes and soap) (fine abrasive, absorbent, lubricant) |
| Tea tree oil |
oil of Melaleuca, terpinen-4-ol, from Melaleuca
alternifolia, a paperbark tree (antibacterial, cosmetic,
antifungal, sunburn) |
| Thiocyanates | [RC(=O)SN] salts and esters of thiocyanic acid HSCN, e.g. methyl thiocyanate CH3SC =- N |
| Thyroxine | hormone containing iodine, from thyroid gland, controls metabolic rate |
| Tincture of iodide |
2-7% KI or NaI solution in ethanol and water,
about 2 g iodine and 2 g sodium iodide in 100 mL, contains soluble
triiodide anion I3-, disinfectant, nowadays
often replaced commercially by povidone iodine, e.g. Betadine |
| Tung oil | From the nut of the tung oil tree,
Aleurites fordii. Used to penrtrate woodand seal against moisture
in paints and varnishes. It dries hard. |
| Turpentine, rectified HARM |
(FP 35oC) from pine resin, contains pinene, C10H16,
and other terpenes mineral turps or turpentine substitute from
petroleum (solvent for oil-based paints) |
| Urethane | Urethane, ethyl carbamate ester, CO(NH2)OC2H5,
is toxic. Urethanes form when the isocyanate group (-NCO)
reacts with (-OH) group to form a
urethane, similar to amide bonds in nylon. Polyurethanes are synthetic
resins containing the repeating group -NH-CO-O-. |
| Vanilla oil |
vanilla essence (food fragrance and flavour,
edeoeriser, creaming soda, creamy soda) Vanilla planiflora (V.
fragrans) vanilla vine, Vanilla pompona, West Indian
vanilla, Orchidaceae |
| Water | tap water, deionized or demineralized water, distilled water, hard water, soft water |
| White spirit |
dry cleaning fluid, "Murlex", mixture of
aliphatic and alicyclic C7 to C12 hydrocarbons (cleaning solvent,
paints, remove oil stains) |
| Xanthene dyes | from condensation of phthalic anhydride with resorcinol, have xanthene nucleus, e.g. fluorescein |
| Yeast | dried yeast (active granules) baker's yeast, living yeast |