Order From Confusion: International Chemical Standardization and the Elements, 1947-1990

Abstract

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is the international standards making body for chemistry whose goal is to create a standardized common language for the global chemistry community. The IUPAC governs the use and creation of names, symbols, and terminology. It also establishes criteria for the discovery of new elements and assesses discovery claims, develops of rules for naming new elements, and defines group numbering and collective names. Notably, the IUPAC does not recommend a specific form of the periodic table. This paper aims to explain why the IUPAC treats changes to the periodic table in a cautious manner by examining several occasions when they either changed nomenclature related to the elements or changed the periodic table. It shows that the negative reactions of chemical researchers to changes in nomenclature were relatively mild in comparison to those of chemical educators in the face of changes related to the periodic table.