Hi Guys,
pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration.
In water there are water molecules H2O, Hydrogen ions H+ and OH- ions.
The H and OH ions are always in equilibrium, so that if you have more H you have to have less OH, pH is a measure of where you are at on the H/OH equilibrium.
So add acid to water and it increases H ions so pH is lower, add a base and it reduces H ions thereby increasing pH.
In reality pH is just one aspect of the chemistry and the hydrogen peroxide example is comparing a highly oxidising reaction with one that is not.
Alkalinity ie.how highly buffered a solution is, is as, if not more important in cleaning terms than pH.
The CC training courses are obviously very basic, there's only so much can be covered in two days
When you were taught chemistry at school you would start off with a basic definition and as you progressed, you would find that definition was simplistic and you would be given a more complex explanation and so on.
One of the things about science is it is fairly complicated , so it is relatively easy to make claims which people take on face value as they do not know any better. As the person becomes more knowledgeable he starts to challenge things and realises its much more complex.
You will not find many scientists talking about the greatest product ever, Jesus in a bottle, etc etc as these are meaningless emotional terms which have little to do with science.
Hope this is not to boring but it really isn't something which can be accureately described in 2 sentences.
Cheers
Doug