Bert Rubini on tue 9 jan 01
Hi Paul:
> I tried Litmus paper but it seems that the amount of water in the solution
> acts as a buffer and I could not get a reading .
>
Litmus paper and pH paper are not the same thing. Litmus is
generally just used to distinguish between alkaline and
acidic solutions, as opposed to determining an exact value
for the pH. On the other hand, pH paper will give a
reasonably accurate indication of the pH (to within 1 pH
unit). It will work fine for any aqueous solution; water
will not affect the reading.
pH paper comes with a color chart -- the paper will turn a
certain color when dipped in the solution, and then you
compare the color of the paper to the chart to determine the
pH. Usually the color chart is on the label, so look for
paper that has a little "rainbow" chart on the label. You
might find it at a pool supply place (just a guess), but if
not check lab supply houses, for instance:
http://www.fishersci.com/
http://www.sargentwelch.com/index.html
hope this helps
bert r
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