View source for Allotropy

'''Allotropy''' is a phenomenon in chemistry whereby a given [[chemical element]] can exist in several different structural forms.<ref>{{GoldBookRef|title=allotropes|file=A00243|accessdate=2010-04-05}}.</ref> Each of these forms is called an '''allotrope'''. The best known example is that of [[diamond]] and [[graphite]], which are both allotropes of [[carbon]]. Allotropy can be seen as a special case of [[polymorphism]].

The term was first proposed by [[Jöns Jakob Berzelius]] in 1841:<ref>{{citation | last = Jensen | first = W. B. | title = The Origin of the Term Allotrope | journal = J. Chem. Educ. | year = 2006 | volume = 83 | issue = 6 | pages = 838–39 | doi = 10.1021/ed083p838}}.</ref> it is derived from the Greek {{Polytonic|άλλοτροπἱα}} (''allotropia''; variation, changeableness).<ref>{{Citation | contribution = allotropy | title = A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles | volume = 1 | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1888 | page = 238}}.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikipedia|Allotropy}}

[[Category:Chemical properties]]

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