pH

pH is the "potential for Hydrogen" and is a measure of the intensity of the acidity or alkalinity of water on a scale from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. At neutral, the hydrogen ion and the hydroxyl ion concentrations are balanced.

The acidity of a solution is defined by the concentration of H² ions it possesses.

When alkalinity is increased, the hydrogen ion concentration decreases, resulting in higher "potential for Hydrogen" (pH).  When acidity is increased, the relative hydrogen ion concentration increases, resulting in a lower pH value. 

The pH value is an exponential measurement function so that one pH number is 10 times the next pH 10 is 10 times as alkaline as pH 9 and 100 times as alkaline as pH 8. A pH of 1 is 1,000,000 times as acidic as ph 7. 

pH Scale

Last modified: July 01, 2008