新元素是如何命名的？3W1H告诉你

　　爱语导读:元素周期表加入了新成员，那么，这些新元素是怎么得名的呢？

　　New elements have been added to the periodic table. But how do they get their names, asks Camila Ruz.

　　元素周期表加入了新成员。Camila Ruz问，这些新元素是怎么得名的呢？

　　Science textbooks around the world have become suddenly out of date. Four new chemical elements have been added to the periodic table. A big decision now lies ahead - elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 need to be given their official names and symbols.

　　全世界的理科教科书瞬间成为了过去时。四名新成员加入了元素周期表。现在一个重大决定摆在眼前——113号，115号，117号，118号元素需要被赋予正式的名称和符号。

　　New elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist. The names have to be unique and maintain "historical and chemical consistency". This means a lot of "-iums".

　　新元素可以以神话概念、矿物质名称、地名、国名，元素的某属性或科学家名字来命名。该名称必须是唯一的，且保持“历史和化学的一致性”。这意味着有很多带“-iums”的名字。

　　"They’re Latinising the name," explains chemist Andrea Sella of University College London. "The most recent tradition has been to name them after places or after people." The places chosen tend to be where the element was discovered or first manufactured. The Swedish village of Ytterby has managed to get four named after it (ytterbium, yttrium, erbium and terbium).

　　伦敦大学学院的化学家Andrea Sella 解释说，“他们将名称拉丁化。而最新的传统是以地名或人名来命名。”地名往往是该元素被发现的地方或诞生地名称。至今已有四种元素（镱、钇、铒、铽）是以瑞典的一个村庄伊特比命名。

　　No-one has yet named an element after themselves but many elements are named in tribute to important scientists. Albert Einstein was given einsteinium. This can also be a way of righting the wrongs of the past. "Lise Meitner was really the chemist who spotted nuclear fission but she was never really recognised for it because she was Jewish and a woman," says Sella. "To be able to give an element a name that reminds us of her is I think greatly important."

　　目 前尚没有人以自己的名字给元素命名，但为了纪念一些有突出贡献的科学家，很多元素被冠以重要科学家的名字。元素锿就是以爱因斯坦的名字命名。这也是修正过 去的错误的一个方式。“Lise Meitner是真正发现核裂变的化学家，但因为她是犹太人，且是女性，她从来没有被认可。”塞拉说，“能够以她的名字给一个元素命名，使人们能记住她， 我认为是非常重要的。”

　　The naming process isn’t quick. The scientists who discovered them will start things off by proposing a name. But it will be down to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) to approve it. A special division of the US-based group has to accept the proposal. There is then a public review period of five months before the IUPAC council gets the final approval. Once it’s ready, the name is announced in the scientific journal Pure and Applied Chemistry.

　　命 名的过程很漫长。发现他们的科学家会先提出一个名字作为开始，不过，接下来就将是总部在美国的国际纯粹与应用化学联合会（IUPAC）负责来批准命名。它 有一个专门的部门将接受这个提议，然后有五个月的公开审查期，最后由IUPAC的委员会核准。一旦准备就绪，该名称将会被公布在纯粹与应用化学科学期刊 上。

　　Scientists sometimes get creative. Mythical names have proved popular. Promethium was named after a character from a Greek legend who stole fire from the gods to give to humans and was punished by being chained to rock so an eagle could feed on his liver. The name was meant to reflect the fact that synthesising new elements often requires sacrifice.

　　科学家们有时也极富创意。神话的名称一直非常受欢迎。钷是以希腊神话里的一个角色命名的。他从神那里偷了火给人类，受到了惩罚，被铐到岩石上，所以有一只鹰吃掉了他的肝脏。这个名字是为了反映一个事实，即合成新元素往往需要以牺牲为代价。

　　There is hidden meaning in the table - as in the naming of praseodymium and neodymium. They replaced didymium - wrongly thought to be an element but in fact a mixture of the two. "The reason I like them is because they’re called the green twin and the new twin," says Sella. "Didymium was named after [the Greek for] twin but in fact it also means testicles."

　　周期表里还有一些隐含意义——比如镨和钕 的命名。他们替换了原有的名字钕镨化合物——它曾一度被错误地认为是一个元素，但实际上是两者的混合物。Sella 说，“我喜欢他们是因为他们是绿色（Praseo意为绿色）双胞胎和新的双胞胎。钕镨化合物是以[希腊文]双胞胎来命名的，但实际上这个词也有睾丸的意 思。”

　　Naming an element is not just about functionality. "There’s a tremendous romance to this," he adds. "Names are always important."

　　给元素命名不仅仅是功能性的。Sella补充说，“命名还非常讲究浪漫。名字不可小视，非常重要。”

　　来源:BBC

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