50 YEARS AGO

One hundred, or even fifty, years ago there was far less to understand... but certainly it becomes every day more difficult to find scientists whose interests are wide enough to assist the advance by helping the specialists to understand one another. There is in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, a collection of letters illustrating the value of such help. They were written between the years 1830 and 1860 by... Michael Faraday and William Whewell, the great discoverer seeking advice from the most learned scholar of his day. Faraday was in difficulties with his experiments on electrolysis. He needed new terms to describe what he was doing... Whewell..., in a letter dated May 5, 1834, strongly advises the terms ‘Anode’ and ‘Cathode’. The letter continues: “If you take Anode and Cathode I would prefer for the two elements resulting from electrolysis the terms Anion and Cation, which are neuter participles signifying that which goes up and that which goes down; and for the two together you might use the term ions instead of Zetodes or Stechions.” And Faraday replies ten days later to say that he has taken Whewell's advice and ends his letter: “I am quite delighted with the facility of expression which the new terms give me and I shall ever be your debtor for the kind assistance you have given me.”

From Nature 4 December 1954.