litmus test
an indicator of future success or failure
TRANSLATION
litmus test (fig.) = die Nagelprobe litmus test = der Lackmustest --- GOOGLE INDEX litmus test: approximately 2,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The IMF's LITMUS TEST, laid down as a condition of Greece's latest bailout, is that the government's debts should fall to 120% of the country's annual economic output by 2020.
(BBC News)
---
White also thinks Apple launched the 5th generation iPod Touch in various colors as a LITMUS TEST for doing the same with its next generation iPhone.
(The Latin Times)
(BBC News)
---
White also thinks Apple launched the 5th generation iPod Touch in various colors as a LITMUS TEST for doing the same with its next generation iPhone.
(The Latin Times)
Did you
know?
litmus test
noun phrase
- (fig.) a decisively indicative test
- a test for acidity or alkalinity using litmus
(Oxford English Dictionaries)
---
Litmus is a water-soluble mixture of different dyes extracted from lichens (a fungus that grows symbiotically with algae, resulting in a composite organism that characteristically forms a growth on rocks or tree trunks). It is often absorbed onto filter paper to produce one of the oldest forms of pH indicator. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic (i.e. alkaline) conditions, with the colour change occurring over the pH range 4.5-8.3 at 25 °C.
The main use of litmus is to test whether a solution is acidic or basic. Wet litmus paper can also be used to test water-soluble gases; the gas dissolves in the water and the resulting solution colours the litmus paper. For instance, ammonia gas, which is alkaline, colours the red litmus paper blue.
Chemical reactions other than acid-base reaction can also cause a colour-change to litmus paper. For instance, chlorine gas turns blue litmus paper white – the litmus paper is bleached due to presence of hypochlorite ions. This reaction is irreversible and therefore the litmus is not acting as an indicator in this situation.
Litmus was used for the first time about 1300 AD by Spanish alchemist Arnaldus de Villa Nova.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The 2012 Summer Olympics was a litmus test for London's ability to organize a major event."
noun phrase
- (fig.) a decisively indicative test
- a test for acidity or alkalinity using litmus
(Oxford English Dictionaries)
---
Litmus is a water-soluble mixture of different dyes extracted from lichens (a fungus that grows symbiotically with algae, resulting in a composite organism that characteristically forms a growth on rocks or tree trunks). It is often absorbed onto filter paper to produce one of the oldest forms of pH indicator. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic (i.e. alkaline) conditions, with the colour change occurring over the pH range 4.5-8.3 at 25 °C.
The main use of litmus is to test whether a solution is acidic or basic. Wet litmus paper can also be used to test water-soluble gases; the gas dissolves in the water and the resulting solution colours the litmus paper. For instance, ammonia gas, which is alkaline, colours the red litmus paper blue.
Chemical reactions other than acid-base reaction can also cause a colour-change to litmus paper. For instance, chlorine gas turns blue litmus paper white – the litmus paper is bleached due to presence of hypochlorite ions. This reaction is irreversible and therefore the litmus is not acting as an indicator in this situation.
Litmus was used for the first time about 1300 AD by Spanish alchemist Arnaldus de Villa Nova.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The 2012 Summer Olympics was a litmus test for London's ability to organize a major event."
