Nomenclature Problems .
open meetirig of the Council Committee on A Publications held during the Midwest Session of
The Nomenclature, Spelling, and Pronunciation Committee of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY has 114th national meeting of the AMERICANCHEMICAL been augmented by the creat.ion of six divisional comS o e I E ~ , - t h e , d i 5 e ~ prohlemhiwf ti~~d chemical. nomittees. Similarly, the.GeneEal .Committee on Nomenmenclature in the Society's journals were discussed at clature of the National Research Council's Division of considerable length. Reference was made.to a resduChemistry and Chemical Technology is assisted by six tion of the Council of the Society passed on September subcommittees. Fortunately, considerable duplication 4, 1922, which should be brought to the attention of of names well known in nomenclature problems appears &the committees of the AMERICAN C~EMICAL SOCIETY authors. and the National Research Council. The National It was voted that the Committee on Nomenclature, SpellResearch Council is the official U$,e.d States contact ing, and Pronunciation endeavor to secure the adherence of with the International Union of Chemistry. The chemical publications in America to the nomenclature and Union has four committees md American representaCHEMICAL SOCIE'DY. spelling adopted by the AUERICAN tion on these committees is adequate. We frequently find it necess& to remind authors ' To he completely effective, agreement on nomencla ture matters must be international. . To achieve such that the 05cial editorial policy is to follow the nomenclature of Chemical Abstracts. Occasionally we run results will require a great deal of continuing effort ininto difficulties, as for example, in the presentation of the terspersed with generous amounts-.of patience and un' Fluorine Symposium in the March 1947 iasue of INderstanding of human frailties and-national viewpoints. DUSTRIAL AND ENG~WEERING CEEWSTRY, when, despite As we view the situation existing today we are optiseveral meetings of nomenclature experts, no complete mist.ic rather than pessimistic, although we expect no and 6nal agreement could be reached. overnight miracles. The war pushed consideration of Nomenclature is one of the principal headaches of oomenclatur'e problems to the background. Internaeditors of chemical publications and it is interesvmg to tional meetings have been revived and if the peace is discover that editors of scientific journak in other fields maint.ained we should find many areas of agreement in of the physical sciences' are plagued with somewhat the next few years. similar problems. As we see it, one practical move would be the establishment in the not-too-distant future of a central buScientiic knowledge in all the physical sciences is reau of nomenclature at C.A. headquarters staffed by growing and perhaps chemistry is in the forefront of experts to advise authors and to review manuscripts this rapid expansion. The problem for us is further strictly from the nomenclature vcewpoint. Meantime complicated hy the wedding of chemistry and physics. we are doing our bit in the over-all drive to bring order Edward R. Weidlein, in his Priestley Medal Address, out of incipient chaos by encouraging both authors of pointed out that during the past 20 years the boundary between the sciences of physics and chemistry has been manuscripts and advertisers to follow C.A. established ,. completely bridged 'and thereby has originated chemiusages. Admittedly we are more .successful with the former than the latter, but we are glad to report that cal physics, one of today's most active realms of scientific endeavor. many advertisers are evincing interest and coopetion in our informal campaign. We are happy to note the increased interest in ncThe nature of a technical publication such i s ours menclature and the practical steps being taken to-prevent the erection of a Tower of Babel in the chemical probably always will foredoom serious aspiptiom to "speek with the tongues of angels," but it IS not unlit'erature. Attention of readers is called to the list of reasonable to expect technical literature at least to be committees now actively functioning,reported in Chon& C Q ~ Engineering News,October 11, 1948, page 3026. consistent in calling a spade a spade. T THE
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