Contact angle: Angle formed between a drop of liquid and a solid
interface.
Contact angle hysteresis: The difference between a droplet’s receding
and advancing contact angle.
Converse piezoelectric effect: The ability of a crystal to oscillate due to
applied alternating current.
Cooperative adsorption: An adsorption processes whereby the presence
of one adsorbate enhances the adsorption of another. Also refers
to the property set of positively and negatively charged molecules,
which do not deposit on a surface individually, to stabilize electrostatic interactions and allow for the deposition of both molecules on a surface simultaneously.
Cooperative binding: Binding of a ligand (small molecule) to a molecule
with multiple binding sites increases the rate of other ligands
binding to the macromolecule. In contrast, anticooperative
binding is when a ligand binding decreases the rate of other
ligands binding to the macromolecule.
Coulombic energy: The energy of interaction between charges.
Critical micelle concentration (CMC): Concentration of surfactant
molecules in solution above, in which micelles begin to spontaneously form.
Conductor: A material in which the highest-energy band with occupied
quantum states also contains unoccupied states, such that electrons can move freely. Conductors conduct electricity well and
strongly absorb or reflect light at all wavelengths.
Conservation of energy: Internal energy of system and surroundings
must remain constant, although energy can be transferred
between the system and surroundings via either heat or work.
Debye length: The characteristic decay length of the electrostatic
potential for the Debye–Hückel model of electrostatic screening.
Also used as a rough approximation for the size of the electric
double layer.
Degenerate: Multiple quantum states that have the same energy are
degenerate. The degeneracy of a state is the number of states that
have the same value.
Glossary
439
interface.
Contact angle hysteresis: The difference between a droplet’s receding
and advancing contact angle.
Converse piezoelectric effect: The ability of a crystal to oscillate due to
applied alternating current.
Cooperative adsorption: An adsorption processes whereby the presence
of one adsorbate enhances the adsorption of another. Also refers
to the property set of positively and negatively charged molecules,
which do not deposit on a surface individually, to stabilize electrostatic interactions and allow for the deposition of both molecules on a surface simultaneously.
Cooperative binding: Binding of a ligand (small molecule) to a molecule
with multiple binding sites increases the rate of other ligands
binding to the macromolecule. In contrast, anticooperative
binding is when a ligand binding decreases the rate of other
ligands binding to the macromolecule.
Coulombic energy: The energy of interaction between charges.
Critical micelle concentration (CMC): Concentration of surfactant
molecules in solution above, in which micelles begin to spontaneously form.
Conductor: A material in which the highest-energy band with occupied
quantum states also contains unoccupied states, such that electrons can move freely. Conductors conduct electricity well and
strongly absorb or reflect light at all wavelengths.
Conservation of energy: Internal energy of system and surroundings
must remain constant, although energy can be transferred
between the system and surroundings via either heat or work.
Debye length: The characteristic decay length of the electrostatic
potential for the Debye–Hückel model of electrostatic screening.
Also used as a rough approximation for the size of the electric
double layer.
Degenerate: Multiple quantum states that have the same energy are
degenerate. The degeneracy of a state is the number of states that
have the same value.
Glossary
439