29D: The pH scale has no numerical ends.
On the pH scale, its acidity has just gone way up.
But like the magnitude scale of earthquakes, one unit on the pH scale reflects a change of a factor of 10.
The pH scale measures whether a solution is acidic or basic.
The pH scale is measured from 0 to 14. Acidic solutions like vinegar fall in the range of 3 to 5. Alkaline solutions like baking soda in water measure above 7.
An article on Friday about a British scientific panel's finding that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was turning the oceans more acidic referred incompletely to the pH scale of acidity and alkalinity.
Now, that doesn't sound like much, but the pH scale is logarithmic, so this actually means the oceans are 30% more acidic now than they were 200 years ago.
The pH scale, which measures the concentration of hydrogen ions, runs from zero, the most acidic, with the highest concentration of ions, to 14, the most alkaline, with almost no ions.
The pH scale, which measures the concentration of hydrogen, runs from 1, the most acidic and highest concentration of ions, to 14, the most alkaline, with almost no ions.
Correction: July 5, 2005, Tuesday An article on Friday about a British scientific panel's finding that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was turning the oceans more acidic referred incompletely to the pH scale of acidity and alkalinity.
The relative acidity or alkalinity of a solution is reported by the pH scale, which is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in solution.
