Abstract
THE name “ionium” which Dr. Boltwood proposes for the hew radio-active element, of which he announces the discovery in NATURE of October 10, is open to serious objections. I do not mean merely linguistic objections—it is too late to consider them; beside such a hybrid as “ionisation” the philological barbarity suggested by Dr. Boltwood is insignificant; but it is a first principle of scientific nomenclature that a name should connote some of the distinctive properties of the thing named. A thoroughly satisfactory system for naming radio-active elements has not been put forward, but that adopted by Prof. Rutherford in designating the members of the series descended from radium is at least better than none.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CAMPBELL, N. The Nomenclature of Radio-activity. Nature 76, 638 (1907). https://doi.org/10.1038/076638b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/076638b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.