Mike Tommasi wrote:
On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 00:15:32 -0700, "Max Hauser"
wrote:


That was one of the venerable, unique, glorious, and (alas, since IUPAC)
obsolete specialized chemical names in English. Others I remember from
Older Sources are Muriate of Potash, Corrosive Sublimate, Calomel, Realgar,
Orpiment, Sugar of Lead (with its suggestion of ancient Romans, their wines
in lead cups and, of course, their orgies). Aqua Regia (the famous acid
mixture -- would dissolve gold, I recall). Sesquicarbonates would vie with
Protoxides to balance the numbers of atoms per molecule. (Along with all
this came the inevitable conversion tables for the three old measure
systems: Avordupois, Apothecaries', and Troy. So many minims of this, so
many grains of that. Mix well.)


Max (hey, I just mentioned you in my last post, coincidence)

you dont have to go back to Alchemists' time to find such terms. As a
kid I used to leaf through my parents Pears' Encyclopedia, a british
compact reference that is still in print, and theyreferred to
Corrosive Sublimate, Blue Vitriol, some ither colour of vitriol, etc..

Indeed you don't, Mike. Speaking as one of the group's resident
(al)chemists, I can tell you that I have used Calomel electrodes in a
student lab, I have made aqua regia for my own use (water spots on your
Riedel? A brief immersion in aqua regia will solve *that* problem) and
anyone who's owned a pool has likely shopped for muriatic acid in pool
supply stores. OTOH, I have no freakin' clue what orpimar is -- though
I am certain that a minute's Googling can solve that problem.

Mark Lipton