Allotropy
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Allotropy is a phenomenon in chemistry whereby a given chemical element can exist in several different structural forms.[1] 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:[2] it is derived from the Greek άλλοτροπἱα (allotropia; variation, changeableness).[3]
References
- ↑ allotropes, <http://goldbook.iupac.org/A00243.html> (accessed 5 April 2010), Compendium of Chemical Terminology Internet edition; International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
- ↑ Jensen, W. B. The Origin of the Term Allotrope. J. Chem. Educ. 2006, 83 (6), 838–39. DOI: 10.1021/ed083p838.
- ↑ allotropy. In A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Oxford University Press, 1888; Vol. 1, p 238.
External links
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See also the corresponding article on Wikipedia. |
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