4 ms·
What's the in-joke with the temporary names? (ununtrium, ununpentium ...)
by troels 11y ago
What's the in-joke with the temporary names? (ununtrium, ununpentium ...)
- nostrademons 11y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_element_name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_element_name
- Macha 11y agoPretty sure they're just sort-of-latin for 113-ium, 115-ium etc.
- troels 11y agoI was mostly thinking of the unun part?
- dandelany 11y ago"Ununpent" = "one-one-five"
- Snowdax 11y agoununtrium (element 113) > un un tri > one one three ununpentium (element 115) > un un pent > one one five etc.
- pdpi 11y agoOne is "unum" in latin.
- troels 11y agoThanks, that was what I was missing. I figured it was the un- prefix, which means something like non-existing. (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/un-#Prefix https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/un-#Prefix)
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- cperciva 11y agoThe temporary "systematic" names exist due to disputes over element names in the past. Standard practice is that the discoverers of new elements are allowed to recommend names; but there have been arguments over who synthesized a new element first, resulting in American and Russian physicists using different names. The rule now is that the systematic names get used until IUPAC has time to authenticate a discovery and establish whose name will be used. There is one in-joke I've heard about systematic names, though: What's the symbol for Unhexhexium? (Answer: "Uhh...")