pH can be viewed as an abbreviation for power of Hydrogen - or more completely, power of the concentration of the Hydrogen ion.

The mathematical definition of pH is a bit less intuitive but in general more useful. It says that the pH is equal to to the negative logarithmic value of the Hydrogen ion (H+) concentration, or pH = -log [H+] pH can alternatively be defined mathematically as the negative logarithmic value of the Hydroxonium ion (H3O+) concentration. Using the Bronsted-Lowry approach pH = -log [H3O+] pH values are calculated in powers of 10. The hydrogen ion concentration of a solution with pH 1.0 is 10 times larger than the hydrogen concentration in a solution with pH 2.0. The larger the hydrogen ion concentration, the smaller the pH.
when the pH is above 7 the solution is basic (alkaline) when the pH is below 7 the solution is acidic

A pH meter is an electronic device used for measuring the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of a liquid (though special probes are sometimes used to measure the pH of semi-solid substances). A typical pH meter consists of a special measuring probe (a glass electrode) connected to an electronic meter that measures and displays the pH reading. An electrical conductivity meter (EC meter) measures the electrical conductivity in a solution. Commonly used in hydroponics,aquaculture and freshwater systems to monitor the amount of nutrients, salts or impurities in the water.
Contents
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1 Principle of operation 2 Temperature dependence 3 See also 4 External links

[edit]Principle

of operation

The common laboratory conductivity meters employ a potentiometric method and four electrodes. Often, the electrodes are cylindrical and arranged concentrically[citation needed]. The electrodes are usually made of platinum metal. An alternating current is applied to the outer pair of the electrodes. The potential between the inner pair is measured[citation needed]. Conductivity could in principle be

determined using the distance between the electrodes and their surface area using the Ohm's law but generally, for accuracy, a calibration is employed using electrolytes of well-known conductivity. Industrial conductivity probes often employ an inductive method, which has the advantage that the fluid does not wet the electrical parts of the sensor. Here, two inductively-coupled coils are used. One is the driving coil producing a magnetic field and it is supplied with accurately-known voltage. The other forms a secondary coil of a transformer. The liquid passing through a channel in the sensor forms one turn in the secondary winding of the transformer. The induced current is the output of the sensor. [edit]Temperature

dependence

Main article: Electrical conductivity The conductivity of a solution is highly temperature dependent, therefore it is important to either use a temperature compensated instrument, or calibrate the instrument at the same temperature as the solution being measured. Unlike metals, the conductivity of common electrolytes typically increases with increasing temperature. Over a limited temperature range, the way temperature affect conductivity of a solution can be modeled linearly using the following formula:

where T is the temperature of the sample, Tcal is the calibration temperature, T is the electrical conductivity at the temperature T, Tcal is the electrical conductivity at the calibration temperature Tcal, is the temperature compensation slope of the solution. The temperature compensation slope for most naturally occurring waters is about 2%/C, however it can range between 1 to 3%/C. The compensation slope for some commonwater solutions are listed in the table below. Aqueous solution at 25 C Concentration (mass percentage) (%/C)

HCl

10

1.56

KCl

10

1.88

H2SO4

50

1.93

NaCl

10

2.14

HF

1.5

7.20

HNO3

31

31