On Fri, 2005-03-04 at 10:49 -0600, Colin J. Ingram wrote: Hi Colin I am replying on list to this and spreading around the love :) > Blake Swadling wrote: > >> > >> 1. Aluminum has one ‘i’ unless you’re from the UK, where it is > >> Aluminium – this is a variant of Aluminum, not the other way > >> around. > >> > >Hmm i think from where i sit (not in the UK) it is Aluminium, and > >Aluminum is a case where spelling has been altered to fit the > >(mis)pronunciation > > > I'm a chemist at a chemistry institution and from where I sit it is > Aluminum. I can't find one periodic table in this building with approx > 600 people in it plus students which says otherwise. Then again I'm in > the US. However the CRC handbook of Chemistry and Physics spells it > this way, as well as the International Union Of Pure and Applied > Chemistry(IUPAC), who standardize the naming of chemical compounds for > the world. Colin This debate could go on ad infinitum. Thank you to all the people that replied to me off list to tell me that I am wrong .... I searched for IUPAC and came up with this, http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Al/hist.html "The ancient Greeks and Romans used alum in medicine as an astringent, and in dyeing processes. In 1761 de Morveau proposed the name "alumine" for the base in alum. In 1807, Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, undiscovered at that time, and later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was adopted by IUPAC to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements. Aluminium is the IUPAC spelling and therefore the international standard. Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the U.S.A. until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society decided to revert back to aluminum, and to this day Americans still refer to aluminium as "aluminum"." It IS only the US/Canada (and a probably a few others who have followed suit. DO NOT email me a definitive list I really don't care. The original comment was made tongue in cheek and I would like to get on with reading useful emails PLEASE). The rest of the world have standardised (with an S!) on ALUMINIUM. Peace love and mung beans to Y'all ;) Cheers Blake Blake Swadling http://www.swadling.com "How should I know if it works? That's what beta testers are for. I only coded it." (Attributed to Linus Torvalds, somewhere in a posting)
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