Analytical Terminology and the Orange Book–The Resources at the End of the Rainbow
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by Roger M. Smith
Analytical Terminology and the Orange Book–The Resources at the End of the Rainbow
by Roger M. Smith
How do you describe an analytical method, or name the new chemical that you have just assayed, or report the units of the measurement? Where do you turn for the definitions? You need to use terms and names that are clear and unambiguous and can be understood worldwide. In other words, you need the resources of the IUPAC “Color Books”: Gold, Orange, Blue, Red, Green, Purple, White, and Silver—not quite a rainbow leading to a pot of gold, but in this case the compendia of the accumulated agreements of the world’s chemists, providing the terminology and nomenclature of chemistry.
For analytical chemists, the principal tool of the trade, or source of terms, is the Compendium of Analytical Nomenclature, the so-called Orange Book, named because of the color of its cover. Originating in 1978, it was most recently updated with a third edition in 1997,1 and was subsequently converted (and updated with additional terms) to an online version by David Moore in 2002.2 Strictly speaking, the title should now be updated to Compendium of Analytical Terminology, not nomenclature, since the latter term is now reserved for the rules for naming chemical structures. In addition to definitions and terms, the Orange Book also describes the different meanings of terms and expands on basic expressions.
As a test, ask yourself if you can readily define the following terms in the context of analytical chemistry; if you cannot then check the Orange Book online.2 Some are more obvious than others.
Stokes shift
supercritical fluid
selective
stripping
difference between a spectrograph,
spectrometer, and spectroscope
when to use a chiral selector
The process of defining a term is a major and continuing part of the activity of the Analytical Chemistry Division Committee of IUPAC and its task groups. The process usually starts with the need to stabilize the terminology for a new and expanding area, or to clarify ambiguities that have arisen over time in an established field, typically because of conflicting usages by different research groups.
A task group of experts in the field is formed by the division. This group will meet (often on numerous occasions) and prepare a draft proposal, which is acceptable to all the members. They then take this draft through a sequence of consultations with representatives of all interested parties, including journal editors and the chemical community at large. The various comments and suggestions are used to generate a provisional recommendation, which is then submitted via the IUPAC website for public review3 (such as the recent review of Metrological Traceability of Measurement Results in Chemistry). At the same time, the recommendations are assessed by the Interdivisional Committee on Terminology, Nomenclature and Symbols. Finally, when all parties are in agreement, the approved, revised, or new terminology is published as IUPAC Recommendations in the official journal of IUPAC: Pure and Applied Chemistry.
These newly approved terms and descriptions are then available and ready to be added to a future updating of the online Orange Book. In many cases, the terms will also be added to the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the Gold Book), which is now also available in an online version.4 Analytical chemists also need to be aware of the content of other color books, especially Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry5 to ensure the correct usage of units and abbreviations.
The most important step is for the analytical community to adopt and then use the IUPAC recommended terms in everyday practice, in publications, journal articles, books, lectures, and other presentations. Journal editors, referees, and editorial boards play an important role in ensuring that contributors employ the correct terminology and avoid older, superseded, or ambiguous expressions. When changes are recommended, general acceptance is often rapid. For example, when, in 1993, the terminology of chromatography replaced “capacity factor (k’)” by “retention factor (k)” and standardized the definition of “plate number” as N (not n), the new terms were adopted rapidly and, except in older textbooks, the archaic terms are now rarely seen.
References
1. Compendium of Analytical Nomenclature (definitive rules 1997), 3rd edition Inczedy, J.; Lengyel, T. and Ure, A.M (Editors) Blackwell Science, 1998 [ISBN 0-86542-6155]
2. www.iupac.org/publications/analytical_compendium
3. www.iupac.org/reports/provisional
5. Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd edition, Cohen, E.R., Cvitaš, T., Frey, J.G., Holmström, B., Kuchitsu, K., Marquardt, R. , Mills, I., Pavese, F., Quack, M., Stohner, J. , Strauss, H.L. , Takami, M. and Thor, A.J. RSC Publishing, Cambridge 2007
Page last modified 2 June 2008.
Copyright © 2003-2008 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Questions regarding the website, please contact edit.ci@iupac.org
© 2014 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Contents
- Adding a Stone to the IUPAC Edifice
- Spain Celebrates Its Year of Science Honoring Mendeleev
- Where Does IUPAC Stand with Regard to this Discipline?
- Triads, Triads, Everywhere
- Chemistry in the Information and Communications Technology Age
- Analytical Terminology and the Orange Book–The Resources at the End of the Rainbow
- Peter Mahaffy Awarded 3M Canada Teaching Fellowship
- Pieter S. Steyn Receives Science for Society Gold Medal
- Chemical Heritage Foundation Produces Distillations, a Weekly Podcast
- Mechanistic Aspects of Chemical Vapor Generation of Volatile Hydrides for Trace Element Determination
- Assessment of Theoretical Methods for the Study of Reactions Involving Global Warming Gas Species Degradation and Byproduct Formation
- Analysis of the Usage of Nanoscience and Technology in Chemistry
- Extension of ThermoML–The IUPAC Standard for Thermodynamic Data Communications
- Provisional Recommendations
- Further Conventions for NMR Shielding and Chemical Shifts (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Transport of Pesticides via Macropores (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Performance Evaluation Criteria for Preparation and Measurement of Macro- and Microfabricated Ion-Selective Electrodes (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Chemists and “The Public”: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
- DE STERS!
- Glossary of Terms Related to Solubility (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Structure-Based Nomenclature for Cyclic Organic Macromolecules (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Graphical Representation Standards for Chemical Structure Diagrams (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- The Periodic Table: Database or XML?
- The Investigation of Organic Reactions and their Mechanisms
- Modern Physical Chemistry for Advanced Materials
- Physical Organic Chemistry in Latin America
- Infrared Spectroscopy Applied to Biological and Biomimetic Systems
- Malta III–Research and Education in the Middle East
- The Future of Science Is through Its Students
- Physical Organic Chemistry
- Safe Food
- Macro- and Supra-Molecular Architectures and Materials
- Challenges in Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry
- Nano-Bio & Clean Tech
- Chemistry Industry and Environment
- Mark Your Calendar
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Contents
- Adding a Stone to the IUPAC Edifice
- Spain Celebrates Its Year of Science Honoring Mendeleev
- Where Does IUPAC Stand with Regard to this Discipline?
- Triads, Triads, Everywhere
- Chemistry in the Information and Communications Technology Age
- Analytical Terminology and the Orange Book–The Resources at the End of the Rainbow
- Peter Mahaffy Awarded 3M Canada Teaching Fellowship
- Pieter S. Steyn Receives Science for Society Gold Medal
- Chemical Heritage Foundation Produces Distillations, a Weekly Podcast
- Mechanistic Aspects of Chemical Vapor Generation of Volatile Hydrides for Trace Element Determination
- Assessment of Theoretical Methods for the Study of Reactions Involving Global Warming Gas Species Degradation and Byproduct Formation
- Analysis of the Usage of Nanoscience and Technology in Chemistry
- Extension of ThermoML–The IUPAC Standard for Thermodynamic Data Communications
- Provisional Recommendations
- Further Conventions for NMR Shielding and Chemical Shifts (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Transport of Pesticides via Macropores (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Performance Evaluation Criteria for Preparation and Measurement of Macro- and Microfabricated Ion-Selective Electrodes (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Chemists and “The Public”: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
- DE STERS!
- Glossary of Terms Related to Solubility (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Structure-Based Nomenclature for Cyclic Organic Macromolecules (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Graphical Representation Standards for Chemical Structure Diagrams (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- The Periodic Table: Database or XML?
- The Investigation of Organic Reactions and their Mechanisms
- Modern Physical Chemistry for Advanced Materials
- Physical Organic Chemistry in Latin America
- Infrared Spectroscopy Applied to Biological and Biomimetic Systems
- Malta III–Research and Education in the Middle East
- The Future of Science Is through Its Students
- Physical Organic Chemistry
- Safe Food
- Macro- and Supra-Molecular Architectures and Materials
- Challenges in Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry
- Nano-Bio & Clean Tech
- Chemistry Industry and Environment
- Mark Your Calendar
