Eka-Eka-Lead?
To the Editor: THIS JOURNAL [46, 626 (1969)], gave the text of the essay by Glenn T. Seaborg, presented at the Mendeleev Centenid Symposium held at the American Chemical Society meeting, Minneapolis, 1969, under the title: "Prospects for Further Considerable Extension of the Periodic Table." I n an expert and daring way, the author considers the possibilities of stability and synthesis of superheavy elements, up to the noble gas (or liquid), of atomic number 168. He names some of those hypothetical elements, as Mendeleev did in the cases of eka-bore (scandium), of eka-aluminium (gallium) and of ekasilicium (germanium). Seaborg names, among others, the elements of atomic number 114 and 164. Both would he placed, in the classification, below lead: Z = 82. Element 114 (82 32) would be called eka-lead, and element 164 (114 50) would be called eka-114 or eka-eka-lead (p. 631). Mendeleev would certainly not have adopted this last appellation, but would have used: dvi-lead. Although he did.not find occasion to use them all, he had foreseen the designations of the unknown elements ranking below a known one, he it in the first, the second, the third (etc.) following line. This was done by him in the famous article, published simultaneously in Russia and in Germany: "Die periodische Gesetzmassigkeit der Chemischen Elemente" [Annalen der Chemie und Phamacie, VIII, Supplement Band, 1871, pp. 133-2291. The same article may be found in the collection "Ostwald's Klassiker o h Exaden Wissenschaften" Nr 68 (1895). Here is an English translation of the relevant passage in p. 92 of this last hook.
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To avoid introducing into scientific language new denomination for unknown elements, I shallnl~methese by using the name of the
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nearest inferior analogous element, whether even or odd, and I shall join to it the name of a Sanskrit numeral: eka (one), dvi (two), tri (three), tschatur (four), etc... Thus, the unknown dements of the first group would be called: Ekaoasium Ec, DVICXSIUM Dc, eto.
Ekac%ium has become Francium. The mention of "even" and "odd" elements refers to the duplication of columns in the condensed tahle: that of the akalines, for instance, and that of the copper family. The above note has no polemical intention: I only wish to pay a modest tribute of homage to the hero of the present Centenary, who showed himself so farsighted. Perhaps it will explain to several teachers the meaning of the prefix "eka" which I am sure they do not fail to mention when they relate to their students the story of the discoveries of Dmitri Ivanovitch Mendeleev.
To the Editor: I was truly pleased to learn from Dr. Colmant's communication that Mendeleev's perspicacity extended even to considering names for elements in distant rows (lines) of the periodic tahle. I was not aware of this fact and am grateful for the explanation, particularly since I confess to an abysmally poor knowledge of Sanskrit. I believe that many readers of
