So why is 7 the neutral value on this scale?
Wouldn’t it been easier to have it as 0 so every negative number was considered acid and so on?
In: Chemistry
Easier … more seductive …
It’s based on the count of ions (OH¯, H₃O⁺) and 7 happens to be the neutral spot. It was once believed that one can’t go beyond 0 .. 14, but I heard that some chemicals can be even more aggressive.
Usually we talk about acids containing water and then the value has a direct meaning – it’s useful for people dealing with it and good enough for normal people to not need a different scale.
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