16 Apr
2007
16 Apr
'07
10:12 p.m.
On 16 Apr 2007 at 21:33, Andrew Burton wrote:
Why have 2 or more names for the same thing (excluding
American English/UK English spelling differences)?
One word--custom. Chemistry is a very old subject and it's not at
all uncommon to have the "old" name used for commerce and the crafts
and the "new" name used by chemistry. "Oil of vitriol" for sulfuric
acid goes back to the 8th century; "muriatic acid" for hydrochloric
acid hails back to the Middle Ages. You may call it "saltpeter" (a
corruption of the Medieval Latin for "salt of stone"), but a chemist
will call it potassium nitrate.
Cheers,
Chuck