From the Latin word alumen, a substance having an astringent taste, or bitter salt
2006-10-21 09:26:55
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answer #1
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answered by Dr. J. 6
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Etymology/Nomenclature history
Word expert Michael Quinlon, who says he "writes about International English from a British viewpoint," notes that in 1807 Humphry Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal Davy was trying to isolate electrolytically from the mineral alumina. In 1812, Davy finally settled on aluminum, [12] which, as other sources note, matches its Latin root. The same year, an anonymous contributor to the Quarterly Review, a British political-literary journal, objected to aluminum and proposed the name aluminium:
Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound. (Q. Review VIII. 72, 1812)
This had the advantage of conforming to the -ium suffix precedent set by other newly discovered elements of the period: potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and strontium (all of which Davy had isolated himself). Nevertheless, -um spellings for elements were not unknown at the time. Platinum, which had been known to Europeans since the 16th century, molybdenum, which was discovered in 1778, and tantalum, which was discovered in 1802, all have spellings ending in -um.
The United States adopted the -ium for most of the 19th century with aluminium appearing in Webster's Dictionary of 1828. However, in 1892 Charles Martin Hall used the -um spelling in an advertising handbill for his new efficient electrolytic method for the production of aluminium, despite using the -ium spelling in all of his patents filed between 1886 and 1903. It has consequently been suggested that the spelling on the flier was a simple spelling mistake rather than a deliberate choice to use the -um spelling. Hall's domination of production of the metal ensured that the spelling aluminum became the standard in North America, even though the Webster Unabridged Dictionary of 1913 continued to use the -ium version.
In 1926, the American Chemical Society officially decided to use aluminum in its publications, and American dictionaries typically label the spelling aluminium as a British variant.
Present-day spelling
In the UK and other countries using British spelling, only aluminium is used. In the United States, the spelling aluminium is largely unknown, and the spelling aluminum predominates.[13][14] The Canadian Oxford Dictionary prefers aluminum.
In other English-speaking countries, the spellings (and associated pronunciations) aluminium and aluminum are both in common use in scientific and nonscientific contexts. The spelling in virtually all other languages is analogous to the -ium ending.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990, but three years later recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table includes both, but places aluminium first[15]. IUPAC officially prefers the use of aluminium in its internal publications, although several IUPAC publications use the spelling aluminum.[16]
You could get more information from the link below...
2006-10-22 05:14:10
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answer #2
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answered by catzpaw 6
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word origin; Latin alumen: alum, an astringent and dyeing mordant.
Davy proposed the name aluminum for the metal and later agreed to change it to aluminum. The name aluminum was adopted to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements. This spelling is in use in most countries. Aluminium was also the spelling in the U.S. until 1925, when the American Chemical Society officially decided to use the name aluminum instead
2006-10-21 15:17:59
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answer #3
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answered by jayscanty 2
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The ancient Greeks and Romans used aluminium salts as dyeing mordants and as astringents for dressing wounds; alum is still used as a styptic. In 1761 Guyton de Morveau suggested calling the base alum 'alumine'. In 1808, Humphry Davy identified the existence of a metal base of alum, which he named (see Spelling section).
Friedrich Wöhler is generally credited with isolating aluminium (Latin alumen, alum) in 1827 by mixing anhydrous aluminium chloride with potassium. However, the metal had been produced for the first time two years earlier in an impure form by the Danish physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ãrsted. Therefore almanacs and chemistry sites often list Ãrsted as the discoverer of aluminium.
http://www.answers.com/topic/alum
2006-10-21 15:11:51
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answer #4
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answered by t_roy_e 3
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