sodiumn.
/ˈsəʊdɪəm/, U.S. /ˈsoʊdiəm/ Chemistry.
1. An elementary alkaline metal (isolated by Davy in 1807), forming the basis of soda n.1, closely resembling potassium in its appearance and properties, and occurring most commonly in the chloride (common salt). Symbol Na (for Natrium).
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > sodium > [noun]
sodium1808
natrium1839
1808 H. Davy in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 98 32 Potassium and Sodium are the names by which I have ventured to call the two new substances.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 331 I discovered sodium a few days after I discovered potassium, in the year 1807.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 395 Sodium has a much higher point of fusion than potassium.
1856 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. II. 743 Sodium has a bluish white colour; in appearance and properties it much resembles potassium, but is somewhat more volatile.
1879 R. A. Proctor Pleasant Ways Sci. i. 1 A certain double dark line in the solar spectrum is due to the vapour of sodium in the sun's atmosphere.
2. attributive.
a. In the names of chemical compounds or groupings, as sodium-alcohol, sodium-amyl, sodium bicarbonate, sodium bromide, sodium carbonate, etc.; sodium Amytal n. Pharmacology the sodium salt of Amytal n., used as a sedative and hypnotic; sodium 5-ethyl-5-isopropylbarbiturate, C11H17N2O3Na. sodium Pentothal n. (see Pentothal n.).
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the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > sedatives, antispasmodics, etc. > [noun] > sedative or hypnotic drugs
barbituric acid1866
adalin1911
allonal1921
Soneryl1923
barbiturate1928
sodium Amytal1929
allobarbitone1934
amylobarbitone sodium1945
Tuinal1949
amobarbital1950
quinalbarbitone1951
barb1955
ethchlorvynol1955
thalidomide1958
methaqualone1961
Quaalude1966
non-barbiturate1974
1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. III. 150 If iodide of amyl be made to act upon the sodium-alcohol.
1862 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (ed. 2) III. 222 When sodium-ethyl is formed from zinc-ethyl by the action of sodium.
1862 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (ed. 2) III. 225 Sodium-amyl would probably furnish caproate of soda.
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 337 Sodium chloride, when pure, is not deliquescent in moderately-dry air.
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 337 Sodium Hydrate, or Caustic Soda.
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 338 Sodium Carbonates.
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 345 Sodium Hyposulphite..is now used in considerable quantity for photographic purposes.
1873 C. H. Ralfe Outl. Physiol. Chem. 105 The potassium and sodium phosphates form three varieties of salts.
1929 Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. 1928–9 26 709 Anesthesia has been produced in human beings by the intravenous injection of solutions of the anhydrous sodium amytal.
1937 Jrnl. Amer. Pharmaceut. Assoc. 26 1248 It was concluded that ‘Seconal’ had a shorter duration of action and that its minimal anesthetic dose and minimal lethal dose were smaller than those of ‘Sodium Amytal’.
1938 J. Steinbeck Long Valley 118 Here's some sodium amytal. One of these capsules will calm him down.
1955 A. Huxley Genius & Goddess 9 One escapes into reminiscence as one escapes into gin or sodium amytal.
b. Miscellaneous, as sodium-compound, sodium-flame, sodium vapour (frequently attributive); sodium-amalgam n. a compound of mercury and sodium. sodium-cooled adj. that employs liquid sodium as a coolant; spec. of (a) an aero-engine exhaust valve, or (b) a nuclear reactor. sodium pump n. Physiology a pump (pump n.1 1g) which operates on sodium ions. sodium soap n. soda soap.
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > sodium > [noun] > compounds
soda1826
caustic soda1839
sodium-amalgam1862
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear reactor > [adjective] > cooled by liquid sodium
sodium-cooled1934
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [adjective] > heating or cooling system
thermo-siphon1904
coolant1915
thermo-siphonic1920
sodium-cooled1934
the world > life > biology > biological processes > cellular processes > [noun] > pump
pump1947
sodium pump1951
1862 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (ed. 2) III. 219 The potassium and sodium compounds are more energetic than those of zinc.
1866 W. Odling Lect. Animal Chem. 138 Uric acid, by deoxidation with sodium-amalgam, yields a mixture of xanthine and hypoxanthine.
1879 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (ed. 6) I. xiv. 391 We send our beam of white light through a sodium flame.
1933 Discovery Feb. 50/2 In the construction of sodium vapour lamps this difficulty is overcome by introducing a rare gas into the tube.
1934 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 38 223 The Americans have attained and even exceeded [500 lbs. per sq. in.]..with a poppet valve (sodium cooled) engine.
1951 Jrnl. Physiol. 114 143 An active sodium pump cannot be ruled out on the grounds that it would require more energy than is available from the resting metabolism.
1954 Sci. Amer. Dec. 38/3 A sodium-cooled reactor, which can be operated at very high temperatures, has greater thermal efficiency than a water-cooled system.
1956 E. Molloy Automobile Engineer's Ref. Bk. iii. 242 In engines where exhaust-valve cooling is a serious problem, the sodium-cooled valve has been adopted.
1964 A. White et al. Princ. Biochem. (ed. 3) xxxvii. 727 In the ascending limb of the hairpin-shaped loop of Henle an outwardly oriented sodium pump..operates.
1968 M. S. Livingston Particle Physics iii. 39 A well-known example [of a multiplet] is the sodium D-line doublet which gives the yellow color to the light from a sodium-vapor lamp.
1971 New Scientist 11 Mar. 529/1 Rudzinski was mainly concerned about the immense complexity of the sodium-cooled technology.
1974 D. Webster & M. Webster Compar. Vertebr. Morphol. ix. 183 Instead of osmotically equilibrating, this imbalance of cations is maintained by the cell membrane's physical characteristics plus an enzyme system, called the sodium pump, which actively removes sodium from inside the cell.
1977 Time 15 Aug. 11/3 What worries them in particular is that Super Phénix will produce energy from a sophisticated sodium-cooled reactor eight times more powerful than smaller, water-cooled plants.
c. Used attributive and in other combinations with reference to (the intense yellow light emitted from) discharge tubes containing sodium vapour, used esp. for street lighting.
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the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > [adjective] > of or lit by specific types of gas lamp > by sodium vapour
sodium1888
1888 F. Rutley Rock-forming Minerals 128 The refractive index of quartz..in sodium-light.
1912 Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry 31 Oct. 1010/2 (heading) Polarisation; Sodium lamps for.
1933 Discovery Oct. 318/2 The electrical impulses corresponding to the television picture signals are converted into the light variations of a specially designed sodium tube.
1956 R. Fuller Image of Society viii. 195 The sodium lamps of the bypass.
1959 New Statesman 8 Aug. 152/2 Their fight is often associated with the campaign against concrete lamp-posts, sodium lighting and similar ‘outrages’ on our towns and cities.
1967 A. J. Marshall in L. Deighton London Dossier 138 Walking in the sodium-lit Kilburn High Road.
1973 J. Mann Only Security x. 132 Thea pressed the whole row of light switches and..the sodium strips flickered into brilliance.
1977 D. Harsent Dreams of Dead 35 Midnight, bruised insomniacs, alive to the growing silence and opening to the sodium glare like flowers.
d. Objective, as sodium-demanding, sodium-retaining adjs.
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the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > sodium > [adjective]
sodic1859
sodium1977
1977 J. L. Harper Population Biol. Plants xxi. 655 The life cycle strategy is likely in such a case to be influenced by the optimal allocation of sodium between parents and offspring and between the various sodium-demanding activities.
1977 Proc. Royal Soc. Med. 70 692/1 One of the hypotheses..has been that these patients fail to escape normally from the sodium-retaining effect of aldosterone.
Draft additions December 2005
sodium nitroprusside n. Chemistry the compound Na2[Fe(CN)5NO], which forms a deep-red crystalline dihydrate and is used as an analytical reagent and as an antihypertensive.
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the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic salts > [noun] > miscellaneous others
alum zucarinea1425
white precipitate1588
volatile salt or salts1639
malate1788
oxalate1788
sebate1788
succinate1789
camphorate1800
suberate1800
tannate1802
formate1807
zymate1817
uranate1819
ambreate1820
fungate1821
hydriodide1823
sorbate1823
fulminate1824
uraniate1824
pinate1829
oleate1831
pectate1831
resinate1831
xanthate1831
formobenzoate1834
racemate1835
indigotate1838
japonate1838
oxalhydrate1838
oxalovinate1838
palmate1838
pyruvate1838
roccellate1838
rubinate1838
verdite1838
oxalurate1839
sesquisalt1839
palmitate1840
rhabarbarate1840
hippurate1841
palmitin1841
sericate1841
stearate1841
oenanthylate1843
humate1844
parabanate1844
urethylane1844
angelate1846
fungiate1847
nitroprusside1849
sodium nitroprusside1849
fulminurate1855
igasurate1855
inosinate1855
phenate1857
sinapate1857
styphnate1857
anchoate1858
parellate1858
toluate1860
piperate1862
fumarate1864
glycollate1864
hydurilate1865
hyoglycocholate1865
isamates1865
itaconates1865–72
paralactate1866
porphyrate1866
usnate1866
thebolactate1867
oxalonitrate1868
rhodanate1868
stearerate1868
terebate1868
terephthalate1868
thymotate1868
turpetholate1868
violurate1868
viridate1868
xanthide1868
glycocholate1872
xylate1872
xylidate1872
tiglate1875
peptonate1876
hydracrylate1877
thymolate1880
formamidine1882
carboxylate1884
nucleate1896
phytin1905
cacodylate1908
cupferron1910
protamine sulphate1915
metallic soap1918
pentaerythritol tetranitrate1923
phosphagen1927
phosphocreatine1927
viologen1933
pentachlorophenate1938
hyaluronate1946
tetraethylpyrophosphate1947
pteroylglutamate1948
inosate-
1849 L. Playfair in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 139 508 It would appear that the barium and sodium nitroprusside contained a body in which the iron and cyanogen are in the same proportion as in ferrocyanogen.
1906 H. J. H. Fenton Notes Qualitative Anal. (new ed.) 27 Sodium nitroprusside, Na2[Fe(CN)5NO], gives a fine purple coloration, probably due to a double salt.
2003 European Jrnl. Anaesthesiol. 20 697 We set out to compare the efficacy of clevidipine and sodium nitroprusside infusions in the control of blood pressure and the haemodynamic changes they produce in hypertensive patients.
Draft additions June 2016
sodium laureth sulphate n. Chemistry a compound used as a surfactant and foaming agent in cosmetic and personal hygiene products; cf. sodium lauryl sulphate n.The structure of sodium laureth sulphate resembles sodium dodecyl sulphate but with a variable number of ethoxy groups inserted in the hydrocarbon chain. Formula: CH3(CH2)10CH2(OCH2CH2)nOSO3Na (where n, commonly 3, is the mean number of ethoxy groups).
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1974 FDA Consumer Apr. 14/2 Sodium laureth sulfate is a cleansing and foaming agent for shampoos.
1996 J. J. Shipp in D. F. Williams & W. H. Schmitt Chem. & Technol. Cosmetics & Toiletries Industry (ed. 2) ii. 40 Primary shampoo detergents are usually anionic and inexpensive, with sodium laureth sulphate being easily the most widely used (particularly in Europe).
2014 Irish Times (Nexis) 5 Feb. 38 The chief ingredient used to cleanse and foam is sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), which some experts believe could be harmful.
sodium dodecyl sulphate n. Chemistry a compound used chiefly as a surfactant and foaming agent in cleaning and personal hygiene products.Sodium dodecyl sulphate is a salt of a sulphate anion with a hydrocarbon side group containing twelve carbon atoms. Formula: CH3(CH2)11OSO3Na.
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1936 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 155 393 The specific conductances of a series of solutions containing a fixed amount of added electrolyte with increasing concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphate were determined.
1976 H. Gould & H. R. Matthews in T. S. Work & E. Work Lab. Techniques in Biochem. & Molecular Biol. IV. ii. viii. 365 Nucleases can be inhibited also by including sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.1%) in the sample, gel and reservoir buffers.
2015 Times Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) (Nexis) 24 Mar. d3 Avoiding toothpastes and mouth rinses with sodium lauryl sulfate (also called sodium dodecyl sulfate) can help, as this chemical can be irritating.
sodium lauryl sulphate n. Chemistry = sodium dodecyl sulphate n.Now chiefly in industrial or cosmetic contexts.Sometimes confused with sodium laureth sulphate n.
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1934 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 218 125 Sodium lauryl sulphate in aqueous solution is neutral in reaction, extremely active as an emulsifying and cleansing agent, acts in the presence of alkalies or acids.., and does not oxidize and become rancid.
1976 J. A. Radley Industr. Uses Starch ii. 58 The clarity of the product is also greatly influenced by the presence of..certain surface active agents such as sodium lauryl sulphate.
2009 New Scientist 5 Sept. 73/2 The most widely used detergent is sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), but as this gives a poor lather, sodium laureth sulphate, which produces a stronger foam, or foam boosters..may also be present.
Draft additions June 2021
sodium fluoride n. Chemistry a white crystalline solid which is used in the fluoridation of drinking water and toothpastes, and in medical imaging and extractive metallurgy.Formula: NaF.
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1869 J. H. Pepper Cyclopædic Sci. Simplified 590 When this salt is dried and mixed with nearly its own weight of sodium, and heated in a glass tube, sodium fluoride is formed.
1946 Sci. News Let. 21 Dec. 397/3 Sodium fluoride has previously been shown able to prevent tooth decay when it is in the water children drink during the years when their teeth are developing.
2015 Daily Mail (Nexis) 13 July The technique involves injecting patients with sodium fluoride that has been tagged with a tiny amount of radioactive tracer.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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