chemical symbol

English

Noun

chemical symbol (plural chemical symbols)

  1. (chemistry) The 1- to 3-letter international code for a chemical element. It is the same in all languages. Thus, gold always has the chemical symbol "Au", regardless what people call it in their language.
  2. (by extension) a similar symbol used to denote a different chemical entity, such as an isotope (e.g. D = deuterium, though "2H" is preferable[1]), a radical (e.g. Ph [or Φ] = phenyl), an unknown (e.g. M = a metal, or X = a halogen), etc.

Translations
Translations

See also
  • Category:Symbols for chemical elements

References
  1. “IUPAC: Provisional Recommendations: Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation Division”, IR-3.3.2
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