A chemical symbol is a 1-, 2-, or 3-letter internationally agreed code for a chemical element, usually derived from the name of the element, often in Latin.
Only the first letter is capitalised. For example, "He" is the symbol for helium (English name, not known in ancient Roman times), "Pb" for lead (plumbum in Latin), "W" for tungsten (wolfram in German, not known in Roman times). Temporary symbols assigned to newly or not-yet synthesized elements use 3-letter symbols based on their atomic numbers. For example, "Uno" was the temporary symbol for Hassium which had the temporary name of Unniloctium.
Chemical symbols may be modified by the use of prepended superscripts or subscripts to specify a particular isotope of an atom. Additionally, appended superscripts may be used to indicate the ionization or oxidation state of an element.
Attached subscripts or superscripts specifying a nucleotide or molecule have the following meanings and positions:
- The nucleon number (mass number) is shown in the left superscript position (e.g., 14N)
- The proton number (atomic number) may be indicated in the left subscript position (e.g., 64Gd)
- If necessary, a state of ionization or an excited state may be indicated in the right superscript position (e.g., state of ionization Ca2+). In astronomy, non-ionised atomic hydrogen is often known as "HI", and ionised hydrogen as "HII".
- The number of atoms of an element in a molecule or chemical compound is shown in the right subscript position (e.g., N2 or Fe2O3)
- A radical is indicated by a dot on the right side (e.g., Cl· for a chloride radical)
In Chinese each chemical element has an ideograph, usually created for the purpose, as its symbol (see Chemical elements in East Asian languages).
Famous quotes containing the words chemical and/or symbol:
“Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor, exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television.”
—Lewis Thomas (b. 1913)
“No one is without Christianity, if we agree on what we mean by that word. It is every individual’s individual code of behavior by means of which he makes himself a better human being than his nature wants to be, if he followed his nature only. Whatever its symbol—cross or crescent or whatever—that symbol is man’s reminder of his duty inside the human race.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)