"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
The original name proposed by Sir Humphry Davy seems to have been
"alumium", derived from "alum" and "alumina". He then changed it to
"aluminum", and then (a few years later) to "aluminium". The final
change seems to have been made to match the suffix with the other
elements that Davy had named.

Perhaps the requirement to stick a five-syllable metal name into the
recital of the table of elements, was enough to cause a pandemic of
sprained tongues, stuttering, and so forth, and the four-syllable
"aluminum" was fetched out of the slushpile of history in order to
improve the meter of the rhyme?

Pity we didn't all just stick with Alumium then. I wonder why he felt the
need for any change, let alone two?

MrT.

Pooh Bear wrote:

Tim Martin wrote:

"Geoff Wood" wrote in message
...

Not British - International English. Aluminum" is unique to the USA and
a
few individuals in countries bombarded by it's media influence.


Why *do* Americans call it "aluminum", anyway?

Rumour has it that an early sample of aluminium was sent to the USA with the
relevant "i" missing from the name stencilled on the case. The name stuck.

After all, they don't have chromum, uranum, titanum, potassum, magnesum,
calcum, helum, sodum, etc.

They don't - although there are some other oddities such as Plumbum - Pb (
Latin for lead ) - also Aurum ( Au - gold ) and Agnum ( Ag - silver ).

Maybe the Yanks simply want some history - Roman style ?

Ohhh......

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

Graham

Tim Martin wrote:

"Geoff Wood" wrote in message
...

Not British - International English. Aluminum" is unique to the USA and
a
few individuals in countries bombarded by it's media influence.


Why *do* Americans call it "aluminum", anyway?

After all, they don't have chromum, uranum, titanum, potassum, magnesum,
calcum, helum, sodum, etc.

Or Rhodium, Berkelium, Americium etc..... oooopps I put the "i" in ;-)

Isn't there an Einsteinium too ?

Graham

On Tue, 03 May 2005 00:13:39 -0000, (Dave Platt)
wrote:

In article ,
Tim Martin wrote:

Why *do* Americans call it "aluminum", anyway?

See http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm for a writeup
on the tangled and twisted tale.

The original name proposed by Sir Humphry Davy seems to have been
"alumium", derived from "alum" and "alumina". He then changed it to
"aluminum", and then (a few years later) to "aluminium". The final
change seems to have been made to match the suffix with the other
elements that Davy had named.

Oddly enough, Americans _did_ use the "aluminium" name, either
preferentially or exclusively, up until around 1925, at which point
Davy's second term "aluminum" was made official by the American
Physical Society. I haven't found any historical notes which say
*why* they reverted to the older and less standard form.

OTOH, from the same source, "The International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) officially standardised on aluminium in
1990, though this has done nothing, of course, to change the way
people in the US spell it for day to day purposes."

So, in fact, the *official* spelling is aluminium, even in the US.

After all, they don't have chromum, uranum, titanum, potassum, magnesum,
calcum, helum, sodum, etc.

One hunch I have is that "aluminium" is five syllables. The others
that you mention are all three or four syllables, as are most other
elements whose names tend to be used at all often.

How about Californium? It don't get more 'Murrican than that! :-)

Perhaps the requirement to stick a five-syllable metal name into the
recital of the table of elements, was enough to cause a pandemic of
sprained tongues, stuttering, and so forth, and the four-syllable
"aluminum" was fetched out of the slushpile of history in order to
improve the meter of the rhyme?

Not really, given that we have plenty of one, two, and three-syllable
elements. The real challenge would be six syllables!
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...

Not really, given that we have plenty of one, two, and three-syllable
elements. The real challenge would be six syllables!

Praseodymium. It's rare for a reason!

Peace,
Paul

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...

"So, in fact, the *official* spelling is aluminium, even in the US."

In the context of chemists' jargon, yes; but there no "official" spellings
for English.

Tim

Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

(Scott Dorsey) writes:

Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

Not only the Germans. Here in Sweden it is "natrium" too.

Non-Roman example:

Tungsten is Wolfram here. The funny thing is "tungsten" is plain
Swedish and it means heavy stone. Grab a piece of Tungsten ore and
you will notice why :-)

--
================================================== ======================
Martin Schöön

"Problems worthy of attack
prove their worth by hitting back"
Piet Hein
================================================== ======================

"Tim Martin" wrote in message
...
|
| "Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
| ...
|
| "So, in fact, the *official* spelling is aluminium, even in the US."
|
| In the context of chemists' jargon, yes; but there no "official" spellings
| for English.
|
I recall growing up in the US that aluminum was the common pronunciation, but
for people who had trouble pronouncing it, they would be given the "official" 5
syllables, al-u-min-e-um.

Personally, I prefer the US/nasal impacted version.
"Aloobidub"
because it's stronger and lighter.

--
CWC
============================
It's not that nice guys finish last,
They have a whole different notion
where the finish line is.
============================

(Schöön Martin) writes:

(Scott Dorsey) writes:

Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

Not only the Germans. Here in Sweden it is "natrium" too.

And then there's potassium, K, which we, and the germans, call Kalium.


Non-Roman example:

Tungsten is Wolfram here. The funny thing is "tungsten" is plain
Swedish and it means heavy stone. Grab a piece of Tungsten ore and
you will notice why :-)

And what's more funny is that it was a swede, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt,
that apparently named it Tungsten, which is the name used in many
countries, but not in Swedish.



--
================================================== ======================
Martin Schöön

"Problems worthy of attack
prove their worth by hitting back"
Piet Hein
================================================== ======================

Thomas

On Tue, 03 May 2005 06:41:37 +0100, Pooh Bear wrote:

Or Rhodium, Berkelium, Americium etc..... oooopps I put the "i" in ;-)

Isn't there an Einsteinium too ?

http://www.webelements.com/

There are number of names with a history the

Ytterbium named after a Swedish village called Ytterby.
Holmium named after - I think - the Swedish capital.
Europium, Americum & Californium
Thulium (from Ultima Thule??)
and Einsteinium is joined by
Fermium, Mendelevium and Nobelium

Cheers,
--
================================================== ==================
Martin Schöön * * * * * * * * * *"Problems worthy of attack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * prove their worth by hitting back"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Piet Hein
================================================== ==================

On 3 May 2005 09:56:36 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

The reason would be - that's what it should be called!
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

"Martin Schöön" wrote in message
news
Ytterbium named after a Swedish village called Ytterby.

Also yttrium, terbium and erbium. Must have been a great bar in that
village.

Peace,
Paul

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On 3 May 2005 09:56:36 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

The reason would be - that's what it should be called!

No. Cos then instead of drinking a soda you would have a nada , and end up
still thirsty.

geoff

On Tue, 03 May 2005 22:32:01 +0200, François Yves Le Gal
wrote:

On Tue, 03 May 2005 20:00:50 +0200, Martin Schöön
wrote:

Ytterbium named after a Swedish village called Ytterby.
Holmium named after - I think - the Swedish capital.
Europium, Americum & Californium
Thulium (from Ultima Thule??)
and Einsteinium is joined by
Fermium, Mendelevium and Nobelium

And don't forget that elusive Unobtainium.

Still sounds the same as copper wire...... :-)
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Wed, 4 May 2005 08:56:41 +1200, "Geoff Wood"
wrote:


"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
.. .
On 3 May 2005 09:56:36 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

The reason would be - that's what it should be called!

No. Cos then instead of drinking a soda you would have a nada , and end up
still thirsty.

No, you'd have a natron, and end up mummified.......... :-)
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Tue, 03 May 2005 18:52:23 +0000, Paul Stamler wrote:


"Martin Schöön" wrote in message
news
Ytterbium named after a Swedish village called Ytterby.

Also yttrium, terbium and erbium. Must have been a great bar in that
village.

To which the local miners went after work.

--
================================================== ==================
Martin Schöön * * * * * * * * * *"Problems worthy of attack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * prove their worth by hitting back"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Piet Hein
================================================== ==================

Geoff Wood wrote:
"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
On 3 May 2005 09:56:36 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

The reason would be - that's what it should be called!

No. Cos then instead of drinking a soda you would have a nada , and end up
still thirsty.

I think all these names are silly. Why not just call it elevenium? If
it's good enough for element 108, it's good enough for sodium.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
And don't forget that elusive Unobtainium.
Still sounds the same as copper wire...... :-)

Give that man an Attaboy...

"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...

I think all these names are silly. Why not just call it elevenium? If
it's good enough for element 108, it's good enough for sodium.

Mmm ... I wonder what Tom lehrer would have made of that

"There's oneium and twoium and threeium and fourium ..."

Tim

On Thu, 05 May 2005 10:30:04 GMT, "Tim Martin"
wrote:


"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...

I think all these names are silly. Why not just call it elevenium? If
it's good enough for element 108, it's good enough for sodium.

Mmm ... I wonder what Tom lehrer would have made of that

"There's oneium and twoium and threeium and fourium ..."

Actually, he's talking not about 108, Hassium, but of the elements
above 111, which start with ununbium and carry on up to ununoctium
(118).
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Thomas Tornblom wrote:
(Schöön Martin) writes:


(Scott Dorsey) writes:


Pooh Bear wrote:

I forgot Ferrum ( Fe - iron ) another Roman example.

My favorite is Na for Sodium. The Germans still call it "Natrium" for
some reason.

Not only the Germans. Here in Sweden it is "natrium" too.


And then there's potassium, K, which we, and the germans, call Kalium.


Yup, here in holland, too: Natrium - Na and Kalium - K

And Jodium - Iodine

but also Waterstof ("water material" *) ) - Hydrogen
and Zuurstof ("Acid material") - Oxygen
Stikstof ("suffocating material") - Nitrogen
or how about Koolstof ("Coal material") - Carbon

*) "stof": stuff, compound, material, dust

Hans
--




This is a non-profit organization;
we didn't plan it that way, but it is

=====================================


(remove uppercase trap, and double the number to reply)

On Thu, 05 May 2005 19:39:35 +0200, Hans van Dongen wrote:

Thomas Tornblom wrote:

And then there's potassium, K, which we, and the germans, call Kalium.

Yup, here in holland, too: Natrium - Na and Kalium - K

And Jodium - Iodine

Just "jod" in Swedish.

but also Waterstof ("water material" *) ) - Hydrogen

"Väte" which with some imagination may be linked to the
Swedish word for wet: "våt" or the associated verb: "väta".

and Zuurstof ("Acid material") - Oxygen

"Syre" in Swedish. Acid is "syra".

Stikstof ("suffocating material") - Nitrogen

"Kväve" here. Suffocate is "kväva".

or how about Koolstof ("Coal material") - Carbon

"Kol" which also means coal.

*) "stof": stuff, compound, material, dust

"Stoff"

What any of this has to do with audio is beyond me but I don't
care :-)

--
================================================== ==================
Martin Schöön * * * * * * * * * *"Problems worthy of attack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * prove their worth by hitting back"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Piet Hein
================================================== ==================