For those of you who want to help the public understand some basics around analytical chemistry, I came across an interesting page in About.com. Below is an abstract to peak your interest. The link includes a lab you might want to give to the experimentalists you know as an acid test (every pun intended).
Red cabbage contains a pigment molecule called flavin. Very acidic solutions will turn it a red color. Basic solutions appear in greenish-yellow. Intermediate, neutral solutions result in a purplish color. It is possible to determine the pH of a solution based on the color it turns the pigments in red cabbage juice, because the color of the juice changes in response to changes in its hydrogen ion concentration. pH is the -log[H+]. Acids will donate hydrogen ions in an aqueous (water) solution and have a low pH (pH <> 7). This concentration change, in turn, affects the structure of the pigment resulting in a different absorption spectrum (i.e., different color).
Find out more at this link.
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