Elements Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Each discovered element is identified by a one-letter or two-letter symbol which is used where a compact way of identifying the element is needed, particularly in describing reactions (such as 2C + O2 --> 2 CO) or multi-atom structures (such as CO3-2).

Where the symbol contains two letters, the first is upper-case and the second is lower-case. In most cases, the first letter of the symbol is the first letter of the element's name and the second is its second letter. Where there are multiple elements whose names start with the same letter, the second letter of the symbol is chosen to give each element a unique symbol. There are also a few cases of elements discovered in ancient times whose symbol reflects the element's Latin name (Au, for instance, means "aurum"). This appears to be a relic of medieval alchemy. Finally, there is one element, tungsten, whose symbol is the first letter of an older Swedish word, "wulfram" for the element,

Undiscovered elements has been assigned three-letter symbols which spell out the element's atomic number using "un" for 1, "bi" for 2, "tri" for 3, "quad" for 4, "pent" for 5, "hex" for 6, "sept" for 7, "oct" for 8, "enn" for 9, and "nil" for zero. The first letter of the symbol is capitalized. As an example, element 126 is symbolized Ubh.

Advertisement