May I be the 94th to suggest
Bowieum and Ziggium
Discworld fans stake claim to element 117
Campaigning Terry Pratchett aficionados have followed the lead of Lemmy fans in demanding that one of the four new elements recently admitted to the periodic table be named in honour of their hero. Last week, we reported that an online petition is calling for either element 113, 115, 117 or 118 to be dubbed "Lemmium". Cue …
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Monday 11th January 2016 12:54 GMT Alien8n
Did pTerry ask for an element to be named in his honour? No he didn't, same with Lemmy (and I guess now Bowie). None of them have asked for an element to be named after them, this is something the fans of each of them has asked in order that they'll be remembered going forward. It's probably unlikely that any of them will be picked (after all names are chosen by the discovering scientists, but their views on the mythological status of the Discworld or Lemmy's contributions to Heavy Metals is unknown at this time).
Personally I think each has it's merits (including the probably soon to be requested Bowium). As stated elsewhere Lemmy already has a star named after him and lets face it he was Heavy Metal (not to forget being a former member of the original space cadets, Hawkwind). pTerry created a rich mythos in his Discworld series, which at times needed several degrees in literature and the sciences in order to fully get the most out of. And for me Bowie was the original Starman, and you can't argue that he gave a certain Canadian astronaut one of the coolest sendoffs from the ISS possible with Space Oddity played in outer space.
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Monday 11th January 2016 17:33 GMT Ken Hagan
The rules had better not say that. Walking down the group we have Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, Astatine and <this one>. The "ium" ending is traditional for metals and most of the trans-uranic elements to date have been metals, but 117 is a halogen and any self-respecting chemist would insist on a name ending in -ine.
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Monday 11th January 2016 12:47 GMT Alan J. Wylie
Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath
The Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath project attempts to find people who have the smallest number of links to a paper published by mathematician Paul Erdős, a film with Kevin Bacon, and a performance with Black Sabbath
http://erdosbaconsabbath.com/
PTerry has a score of 4+2+3, Brian May's is 5+3+1. Richard Feynman's is 3+3+4.
More at http://timeblimp.com/?page_id=195
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Monday 11th January 2016 16:17 GMT RDW
Alexander Borodin is most famous today as a composer (you will recognise the tune of his Polovtsian Dances from 'Prince Igor'), but at his day job he was a world-class research chemist - he co-discovered the Aldol Addition, which features in every organic chemistry textbook. I can't think of anyone else who has significantly added to 'the canon' of both science and music, though there are plenty of scientists who are also skilled musicians, and professional musicians with a science or maths background.
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Monday 11th January 2016 13:04 GMT no-one in particular
Re: A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End
The eight-ish connection is a fair point, but the petitioners did put some thought into it; from the article:
> According to Disc mythology, octarine is visible only to wizards and cats, and is generally described as a sort of greenish-yellow purple colour, which seems perfect for what will probably be the final halogen in the periodic table
So we have the right sort of colour and the name fits in well: flourine, chlorine, iodine ... octarine
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Monday 11th January 2016 12:29 GMT Dave 126
Scientist's tribute to Terry Pratchett
Physicist Len Fisher pays tribute to Pratchett's scientific observations.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/2016-01-02/7051062 link to webpage where MP3 can be downloaded from.
Example:
It’s very hard to talk quantum using a language originally designed to tell other monkeys where the ripe fruit is.'
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Monday 11th January 2016 13:08 GMT Teiwaz
Re: Scientist's tribute to Terry Pratchett
"It’s very hard to talk quantum using a language originally designed to tell other monkeys where the ripe fruit is.'"
Always one of my favourites, just behind....
"It is hard to convey five-dimensional ideas in a language evolved to scream defiance at the monkeys in the next tree”
― Terry Pratchett, Darwin's Watch: The Science of Discworld III: A Novel
'
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Monday 11th January 2016 13:10 GMT Trygve Henriksen
Actually, according to the wiki, Narativium is the basic buildingblock of 'reality'.
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The Disc's nature is fundamentally teleological; its basic composition is determined by what it is ultimately meant to be. This primary element, out of which all others spring, is known as narrativium, the elemental substance of Story. Nothing on the Disc can exist without a Story first existing to mold its destiny and determine its form.
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So, it's probably pretty abundant and all that.
Octarine is the light of Magic, and can only be observed by wizards(and cats, of course), much like 117 can only be observed(indirectly) by todays scientists with powerful tools.(and also, probably by cats... )
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Monday 11th January 2016 14:13 GMT Dave 126
Re: Petition fatigue
Man: However, I would just like to add a complaint about shows that have too many complaints in them as they get very tedious for the average viewer.
Another Man: I'd like to complain about people who hold things up by complaining about people complaining. It's about time something was done about it. [sixteen-ton weight falls on him]
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Monday 11th January 2016 15:39 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Petition fatigue
"You should start a petition demanding an end to these petitions."
I would have done, but I would have been a member of the Militant Apathy Society at University, had I been bothered to fill in the form, so it would be contrary to my core beliefs, if I could be bothered to have any.
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Monday 11th January 2016 15:23 GMT Kugutsu
Given its position on the periodic table, it could be argued that it is a metal, as the traditional metal/non-metal divide passes above it. A semi-metal/metalloid at very least...
Whichever way you want to swing it, I'd be happy to have either, Octarine if its determined to be a halogen or Octiron if its a metal, on the new version of the periodic table. A fitting tribute, given Sir Terry's involvement in spreading the word about science.
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Monday 11th January 2016 15:42 GMT Anonymous Coward
"it could be argued that it is a metal, as the traditional metal/non-metal divide passes above it. A semi-metal/metalloid at very least..."
Easy to find out, just get a lump of it and hit it with a hammer. If it flattens it's a metal, if it shatters it's a metalloid, and if it's a halogen the hammer gets oxidised.
You bring the lump of 117ium, I'll bring the hammer. And a lead suit.
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Monday 11th January 2016 15:56 GMT Jason Bloomberg
Tedium
Though for me it would be more couldnotgiveashitium.
Tribalisium would seem most appropriate seeing various factions pushing to get what they want. Perhaps we'll see a competing surge for jayellessium, downtonabbium or thegreatbritishbakeoffium.
We might even have deadprincessium if the Daily Express seize upon a notable 20th anniversary coming up. Perhaps ukipium to be more topical, though I think corbynium has a better ring to it
I am hoping those who get to do the actual naming don't bow to pressure and choose whatever they want. Even if everyone else does hate it.
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Wednesday 13th January 2016 18:54 GMT Michael Wojcik
Re: Mythical, you say ? -Nope. Too confusing with Beryllium (Be), element no.4.
There's a whole lot of lanthanides suggest that isn't a problem.
Terbium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Lanthanum...even their own mothers can't tell them apart.
Terbium and Yttrium are named after Ytterby, Sweden, of course. Ytterbium is named after the compound it was isolated from, ytterba, as was the custom at the time. Ytterbia was named after Ytterby, Sweden. Erbium was named after Ytterby, Sweden, by Mossander.
Each of these elements is also commonly called "Bruce".
Thulium, on the other hand, is obviously named after Iceland and could never be confused with any other element, as its name has nothing to do with Ytterby.
In Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, Hugh Aldersey-Williams has a nice section on the Ytterby mine and Swedish elemental chemistry.
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Monday 11th January 2016 19:01 GMT Old Handle
Maybe they should save Octarine for the halogen in the eighth row, (whatever number that works out to, with the unbinilliumides in there.) Names will probably have gotten sillier by then too, so it'll be an easier sell. Or alternatively, prove neutronium (element o) exists and move everything else down.
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Monday 11th January 2016 22:17 GMT allthecoolshortnamesweretaken
Re: periodic table
One of the 'what ifs' in Randall 'xkcd' Munroe's brilliant 'What If' explores the possibility of making a model of the periodic table out of the real stuff, i.e. putting a sample of each element in a shelve in the same arrangement as in the table of elements. Interesting. (Hint: see icon.)
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Tuesday 12th January 2016 18:31 GMT YumDogfood
Re: periodic table
http://griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/hallofthesky_elements.html
I noticed that some of the more "interesting" elements were absent, though the little containers existed to fill in the gaps. Its a fun day out, the views outside (Hollywierd sign, the city spread out below) are impressive, and... the parking is free (yes, wierd for Los Angeles.)
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
