A new series prepared by ICTNS

Ron Weir

doi:10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.24

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A new series prepared by ICTNS

Ron Weir

Published/Copyright: March 27, 2014

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 36 Issue 2

During the past 25 years, the revolution in communications has brought significant changes to all aspects of our lives. Our professional lives in science, engineering, and medicine witness new developments each month especially in the field of publishing where the findings of our work can reach hundreds of millions of individuals instantly via the Internet. These developments exert additional pressure on the requirements for clear unambiguous scientific communication. One can only imagine the frustration by shoppers at the time of the French Revolution attempting to seek bargains among the vegetable and fruit sellers when several different definitions of the livre (pound) prevailed among the merchants. That conundrum was alleviated in 1799 when France introduced the kilogramme des Archives along with the mètre des Archives.

Cultural differences and individual scientists working in isolation from the mainstream increase the challeng e to ensure that communication in the language of science is understood by everyone. This is especially important in fields related to medical and pharmaceutical work, where life and death are involved. Customs officials are vigilant to ensure that imports are properly labeled, most often adhering to the international standards set by IUPAC. These standards are achieved through extensive consultation with scientists and various standards organizations to achieve the widest possible consensus throughout the world. Various international bodies, customs unions, and scientific journals also adhere to these international standards.

Within IUPAC, the Interdivisional Committee on Terminology, Nomenclature and Symbols (ICTNS) bears the responsibility, among other matters, to ensure that all publications emanating from IUPAC or bearing the IUPAC label adhere to the internationally agreed terms. The various Color books produced by IUPAC are easy references to determine the internationally agreed conventions. There are the Gold `book (Chemical Terminology), Green book (Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry), Red book (Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry), Blue book (Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry), Purple book (Polymer Terminology and Nomenclature), Orange book (Analytical Terminology), Silver book (Terminology and Nomenclature of Properties in Clinical Laboratory Sciences), and White book (Biochemical Nomenclature).

ICTNS is coordinating a new series of short Notes, which started in January 2014, which follows the model of the Nomenclatures Notes compiled over the last two years by Professor Jeffery Leigh (www.iupac.org/publications/ci/indexes/nomenclature-notes.html). The Notes have been solicited on the basis of interest to readers as well as the vehicle to provide education. The topics include the following: (i) the use of abbreviations such as ppm, ppt, ppb and the need to use powers of ten for clarity; (ii) the history surrounding the spelling of various elements such as sulphur or sulfur, aluminium or aluminum and others; (iii) naming elements; (iv) atomic weights specifically isotopic composition; (v) ratio m/z used in mass spectroscopy; (vi) labeling the axes of graphs to honor the Quantity Calculus; (vii) optical spectroscopy, etc. Readers are welcome to suggest topics suitable for a short article in CI.

weir-r@rmc.ca

Published Online: 2014-03-27

Published in Print: 2014-03

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.24