Introduction

ACIDIC, BASIC AND NEUTRAL MATERIALS

Justus von Liebig was born on April 18, 1873 in Munchen, Germany. He made many great contributions to society, by investigating on agriculture and on biological chemistry. One of his major inventions was the nitrogen-based fertilizer. He believed that the chemical nitrogen must be supplied to plant roots in the form of ammonia, and recognized the possibility of replacing chemical fertilizers for natural (animal dung, etc.) ones. Nitrogen fertilizers are now used in the whole world, and their production is a big contribution to the chemical industry.

But he also made another huge contribution to the world of science, and this time it was in the field of acid and bases. He discovered that acids are substances that can react with metals to produce hydrogen. What he concluded was absolutely correct. An example is when sodium reacts with water to give off hydrogen and produce salt as well. The equation is listed below.

2Na + 2HCl → 2NaCl + H₂

He even said that every acid had hydrogen in it, however he did not mention that they were hydrogen ions in the acid.

Many fruits and some vegetables are of sour taste because of the presence of substance known as acid, which have formed naturally in them. All sour materials contain acids. On the other hand there are some substances such as washing soda, lime and materials like soap whose solutions have a soapy touch and a better taste. These materials are bases or alkalis. When an acid and a base react together they form new compounds known as salt and water.