soda lime
- noun
- /ˈsoʊdə laɪm/
- Specialized
:
cal sodada
- In a medical setting, soda lime is essential for absorbing carbon dioxide during anesthesia.
Examples
-
The laboratory technician replaced the exhausted soda lime in the CO2 scrubbing system.
-
Wheaton uses soda lime and borosilicate glass to make its threaded glass products.
Academic text (1995) -
He "scrubs" the samples with soda lime to remove the carbon from the ambient air in the jars.
Academic text (2008) -
To maintain accurate results, scientists often use soda lime to remove moisture from gas samples.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is clearly a compound of two substance names so a learner who knows 'soda' and 'lime' can infer it denotes an alkaline mixture made from those kinds of chemicals. However the precise chemical composition and the specialised function (CO2/moisture absorption in lab/medical contexts) are technical and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure is helpful.
Etymology
Soda lime gets its name from its two main parts: soda (a sodium chemical) and lime (a calcium chemical). When mixed, they work like a sponge that 'absorbs' moisture and carbon dioxide, so the name shows what the material does today.
