Glossary

Local resource for concise explanations of ambiguous and technical terms.

1. Anion: An ion with a negative electrical charge.
2. Anode: One of the electrodes in a piece of electrical equipment. When releasing electricity in a battery the anode is the negative electrode and when absorbing energy in an electrolytic cell it is the positive electrode.
3. Atom: The smallest particle of a chemical element that can possibly exist. ie: Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O).
4. Boil: To cause something to attain the temperature at which a liquid starts to turn into a gas.
5. Cathode: One of the electrodes in a piece of electrical equipment. When releasing electricity in a battery the anode is the positive electrode and when absorbing energy in an electrolytic cell it is the negative electrode.
6. Cation: An ion with a positive electrical charge.
7. Chlorination: Disinfection of water by adding small amounts of chlorine or a chlorine-rich compound.
8. Desalination: The process of removing salt from water.
9. DNA: A self-replicating material present in living organisms, the carrier of genetic material and the main constituent of chromosomes.
10. Electrode: The point at which an electric current enters or leaves something.
11. Electrolysis: The use of an electric current to cause a chemical change in a liquid.
12. Electron:
13. Evaporate: To cause a liquid to change to a gas usually by the sun although can be also induced by boiling.
14. Filter: Any of several types of equipment or devices for removing solids from liquids or gases.
15. Flash Evaporation: Flash evaporation is a partial vapourisation that occurs when a saturated liquid goes through a pressure reduction by passing through what is known as a thermostatic expansion valve. The evaporation is caused by a pressure reduction and or added heat.
16. Flashing: Metal strips used to seal the gaps between a roof and an adjoining surface.
17. Ion: An atom or small group of atoms that has an electrical charge because it has added or lost one or more electrons.
18. LED: Short for Light Emitting Diode, a method of converting electrical energy to light energy.
19. Membrane: A very thin piece of material that covers an opening.
20. Molecule: A group of multiple atoms that form the smallest unit that a pure substance can be divided whilst still retaining the same composition and properties ie. water (H20) is composed of 2x hydrogen and 1x oxygen atoms.
21. Oxidization: Oxidation is the loss of electrons during a reaction by a molecule, atom or ion.
    Oxidation occurs when the oxidation state of a molecule, atom or ion is increased.
22. Osmosis: The process in plants and animals by which a liquid moves gradually from one part of the body or the plant to another through a membrane.
23. Photons: A particle representing light or other electromagnetic radiation. A photon has a mass of zero but carries energy proportional to the radiation frequency.
24. Porous: A porous material or object is filled with small holes or bubbles enabling air or liquid to pass through it. 
25. Potable: Water fit for human consumption.
26. Prism: A triangular transparent object with refracting surfaces at acute angles to each other, a tool to separate white light into a spectrum of colours.
27. Radical: An atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired electron in its outer shell. These unpaired electrons generally make radicals highly chemically reactive.
28. Reverse-Osmosis: A process by which liquid goes through a semi-permeable membrane in the opposite direction to osmosis, this is induced by applying greater hydrostatic pressure than the osmotic pressure of the system.
29. RNA: Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its main role is to carry instructions from DNA to control the synthesis of proteins.
30. Semi-Permeable: Allowing certain substances to pass through but not others, generally used in water applications where the liquid (water) is allowed through but certain solutes like salt are not.
31. Semi-Permeable Membrane: A membrane that allows certain substances to pass through but not others, generally used in water applications where the liquid (water) is allowed through but certain solutes like salt are not.
32. Solar: Related to the sun, using the sun’s energy to produce electrical power.
33. Soluble: Describing the ability of a substance to dissolve in a liquid, highly soluble meaning will easily dissolve.
34. Solution: A liquid mixture in which the minor component (the solute) is uniformly distributed within the major component (the solvent).
35. Thermostatic expansion valve: A valve regulates the flow of seawater into a chamber in order to decrease the pressure and subsequently decrease the boiling temperature of the water within the chamber. They are self-regulated by the water vapour flowing out at the end of the process ensuring a constant optimal environment for evaporation at the given temperature.
36. Turnkey: The provision of a complete product or service that is ready for immediate use.
37. Unpotable: Unfit for human consumption.
38. UV: Short for ultraviolet, the ultraviolet part of the light spectrum and or more specifically ultraviolet radiation.
39. Watershed: An area of land or artificial surface designed to collect rainwater into a common storage area or river.
40. Wavelength: The length in between successive wave peaks, It can refer to light waves, sound waves or electromagnetic waves.