Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH).Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average.
Robert Angus Smith FRS (15 February 1817 – 12 May 1884), commonly referred to as Angus Smith, [1] was a Scottish chemist, who investigated numerous environmental issues.He is known for his research on air pollution in 1852, in the course of which he discovered what came to be known as acid rain.
In rain, the ratio of nitric-to-sulfuric acids decreases to approximately 1:2. The higher sulfuric acid content of rain also may not release as much Al 3+ from soils as does nitric acid, in part due to the retention (adsorption) of SO 4 2-by soils.
At night, NO 3 further reacts with NO 2 and establishes an equilibrium reaction with dinitrogen pentoxide (N 2 O 5). [35] Via heterogeneous reaction, N 2 O 5 reacts with water vapor or liquid water and forms nitric acid (HNO 3). As mentioned above, nitric acid can be removed through wet and dry deposition and this results in the removal of NO x ...
Diagram depicting the sources and cycles of acid rain precipitation. Freshwater acidification occurs when acidic inputs enter a body of fresh water through the weathering of rocks, invasion of acidifying gas (e.g. carbon dioxide), or by the reduction of acid anions, like sulfate and nitrate within a lake, pond, or reservoir. [1]
3) in the atmosphere has tripled as the result of human activities. It is a reactant in the atmosphere, where it acts as an aerosol, decreasing air quality and clinging to water droplets, eventually resulting in nitric acid (H NO 3) that produces acid rain. Atmospheric ammonia and nitric acid also damage respiratory systems.
Nitrogen dioxide is a reddish-brown gas with a pungent, acrid odor above 21.2 °C (70.2 °F; 294.3 K) and becomes a yellowish-brown liquid below 21.2 °C (70.2 °F; 294.3 K). It forms an equilibrium with its dimer , dinitrogen tetroxide ( N 2 O 4 ), and converts almost entirely to N 2 O 4 below −11.2 °C (11.8 °F; 261.9 K).
Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula H N O 3. It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. [6] The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitric acid has a concentration of 68% in water.