artemist on Nostr: chinese having dedicated characters for each element is sort of funny. it means that ...

chinese having dedicated characters for each element is sort of funny. it means that every time a new element is discovered they have to make a new one, e.g. Roentgenium (atomic number 111) is 𬬭

also they use radicals based on the phase/type of matter at room temperature. gasses have a 气 (gas, e.g. 氦 He), metallic solids have a 金 (metal, e.g. 锇 Os), non-metallic solids have a 石 (stone, e.g. 硅 Si), and liquids have a 水 (water, e.g. 溴 Ga).

also for some reason deuterium and tritium also get characters, fittingly 氘 and 氚 respectively (number of vertical lines based on their atomic weight)