Every real friend to chemistry, therefore, should wish for a happy issue to the plan of Mons.
Morveau, to be attempted in the new Encyclopedia [Sect. 26.9]. In the mean time, it may be
permitted me to offer a few cursory remarks, which I think are relating particularly to
mineralogy, and submit them to the judgement of the public. [39]
Bergman repeated his opinion that absurd and false names should be removed,
and that names should express “some essential property or composition” of the
substance.
It is clear that Bergman tried to align his ideas with those of de Morveau in order
to achieve a more universally accepted system. He accepted the term Acidum
mephiticum suggested for carbonic acid by de Morveau in 1782, and scarified his
Acidum aeratum. Bergman also replaced his Terra ponderosa with barytes, derived
from de Morveau’s suggestion barote, but for another reason than de Morveau: he
wanted the names of the earths to be expressed by a single word. For the same
reason, he suggested replacing the old Alkali minerale, Alkali vegetabile and Alkali
volatile with Natrum, Potassium and Ammoniacum, respectively.
To distinguish the pure earths from naturally occurring minerals, he suggested
altering the names Calx, Magnesia, Argilla and Silex to Calcareum, Magnesium,
Argillaceum and Siliceum, respectively. To achieve a greater consistency, Bergman
suggested that all names of metals should end with -ium, a principle that ever since
has been applied in English (but ironically enough not in Swedish). The only
change Bergman had to do was to switch gender from feminine to neuter for
platina, thus establishing the name platinum.
As alkalis and earths were now expressed by a single word, he reduced the
names of acids to a single word: vitriolicum, nitrosum and muriaticum rather than
Acidum vitriolicum, Acidum nitrosum and Acidum muriaticum, respectively.
An important question for Bergman, in order to proceed to more complex
compounds (neutral salts and analogical salts in Bergman’s terminology), was
whether the base or the acid determined the genus, i.e. if acid or base should appear
first in the name. In the case of salts of metals and earths (analogical salts),
Bergman believed that the genus was determined by the acid. In the case of the
neutral salts, i.e. the sodium-, potassium- and ammonium salts, he was inclined to
think that the genus was better described by the base, but in order to form a uniform
system, he decided that the acid should determine the genus in this group as well.
Thus, he switched the order of the acid in the base in his names, i.e. Vitriolicum
potassinatum (K 2 SO 4 ), Muriaticum ammoniacum (NH 4 Cl), Nitrosum argillatum
(Al(NO 3 ) 3 ), Muriaticum barytatum (BaCl 2 ) and Nitrosum argentatum (AgNO 3 ). By
doing so, he had (accidently or on purpose) aligned his system with that of de
Morveau. For some reason, he deviated from the consistency in the case of “Saline
earths, with such an excess of earthy matter as nearly to obliterate their saline
character” [40] and preferred to write Barytes vitriolatus and Calcareum fluoratum
rather than Vitriolicum barytatum (BaSO 4 ) and Fluoratum calcareum (CaF 2 ).
Bergman’s nomenclature could even account for salts of polybasic acids such as
tartaric and oxalic acid: tartareum potassini was potassium hydrogen tartrate, while
tartareum potassinatum was potassium tartrate and oxalinum potassini was
potassium hydrogen oxalate while oxalinum potassinatum was potassium oxalate.
362
26 Bergman’s Contribution to Chemical Nomenclature
Morveau, to be attempted in the new Encyclopedia [Sect. 26.9]. In the mean time, it may be
permitted me to offer a few cursory remarks, which I think are relating particularly to
mineralogy, and submit them to the judgement of the public. [39]
Bergman repeated his opinion that absurd and false names should be removed,
and that names should express “some essential property or composition” of the
substance.
It is clear that Bergman tried to align his ideas with those of de Morveau in order
to achieve a more universally accepted system. He accepted the term Acidum
mephiticum suggested for carbonic acid by de Morveau in 1782, and scarified his
Acidum aeratum. Bergman also replaced his Terra ponderosa with barytes, derived
from de Morveau’s suggestion barote, but for another reason than de Morveau: he
wanted the names of the earths to be expressed by a single word. For the same
reason, he suggested replacing the old Alkali minerale, Alkali vegetabile and Alkali
volatile with Natrum, Potassium and Ammoniacum, respectively.
To distinguish the pure earths from naturally occurring minerals, he suggested
altering the names Calx, Magnesia, Argilla and Silex to Calcareum, Magnesium,
Argillaceum and Siliceum, respectively. To achieve a greater consistency, Bergman
suggested that all names of metals should end with -ium, a principle that ever since
has been applied in English (but ironically enough not in Swedish). The only
change Bergman had to do was to switch gender from feminine to neuter for
platina, thus establishing the name platinum.
As alkalis and earths were now expressed by a single word, he reduced the
names of acids to a single word: vitriolicum, nitrosum and muriaticum rather than
Acidum vitriolicum, Acidum nitrosum and Acidum muriaticum, respectively.
An important question for Bergman, in order to proceed to more complex
compounds (neutral salts and analogical salts in Bergman’s terminology), was
whether the base or the acid determined the genus, i.e. if acid or base should appear
first in the name. In the case of salts of metals and earths (analogical salts),
Bergman believed that the genus was determined by the acid. In the case of the
neutral salts, i.e. the sodium-, potassium- and ammonium salts, he was inclined to
think that the genus was better described by the base, but in order to form a uniform
system, he decided that the acid should determine the genus in this group as well.
Thus, he switched the order of the acid in the base in his names, i.e. Vitriolicum
potassinatum (K 2 SO 4 ), Muriaticum ammoniacum (NH 4 Cl), Nitrosum argillatum
(Al(NO 3 ) 3 ), Muriaticum barytatum (BaCl 2 ) and Nitrosum argentatum (AgNO 3 ). By
doing so, he had (accidently or on purpose) aligned his system with that of de
Morveau. For some reason, he deviated from the consistency in the case of “Saline
earths, with such an excess of earthy matter as nearly to obliterate their saline
character” [40] and preferred to write Barytes vitriolatus and Calcareum fluoratum
rather than Vitriolicum barytatum (BaSO 4 ) and Fluoratum calcareum (CaF 2 ).
Bergman’s nomenclature could even account for salts of polybasic acids such as
tartaric and oxalic acid: tartareum potassini was potassium hydrogen tartrate, while
tartareum potassinatum was potassium tartrate and oxalinum potassini was
potassium hydrogen oxalate while oxalinum potassinatum was potassium oxalate.
362
26 Bergman’s Contribution to Chemical Nomenclature