The Alkali reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Alkali

In chemistry an alkali is a caustic base which produces hydroxide ions (OH^-) when dissolved in water or alcohol. Common alkalis include sodium hydroxide (also called lye or caustic soda), ammonia, potassium hydroxide (also called potash), and lithia. They are capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water.

See also: alkali metal and alkaline earth metal

This is the "Alkali" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.