Chemicals' names a-z ; ancient & modern

Jewelry Discussion
1

Here’s a longer list of chemicals and their common names than the
previous one. I won’t pretend that it is complete; no list is ever
complete. But you can add others yourself.as you go along. But please
don’t let’s hear any more about Muriatic acid!! That name died out
before I was born. (a good while, that)

Alabaster                                 Calcium sulphate
Anhydrite                                   Anhydrous calcium sulphate
Baking soda                            Sodium bicarbonate
Baryta                                     Barium oxide
Bleach                                     Sodium hypochlorite
Bleaching powder                     Calcium hypochlorite
Blue vitriol                                 Copper sulphate
Boracic acid                                Boric acid
Borax                                         Sodium tetraborate
Brimstone                                 sulphur
Calamine                                     Zinc carbonate
Caliche                                         sodium nitrate
Calomel                                         Mercuric chloride
Caustic Potash                        Potassium hydroxide
Caustic                                     soda Sodium hydroxide
Chile saltpeter                        Sodium Nitrate
Chloride of iron                      Ferric chloride
Condy's crystals                         Potassium permanganate
Copperas                                 Ferrous sulphate
Cream of tartar                        Potassium hydrogen tartrate
Drikold                                     Solid carbon dioxide
Epsom salts                                Magnesium sulpkate
Flowers of sulphur                 Sulphur in powder form.
Fuller's earth                             Non plastic clay
Glauber's salt                             Sodium sulphate
Gypsum                                     Calcium Sulphate  
Horn silver                                 Silver chloride
Hypo, photographic                     Sodium thiosulphate
Ivory black                                 Carbon (from bones)
Kaolin                                             Aluminium silicate,	China clay
King's Yellow                             Arsenic trisulphide
Lime sulphur                               Calcium polysulphide
Litharge                                         Lead monoxide
Lithopone                                     Zinc sulphide and barium sulphate
Liver of sulphur                            Potassium polysulphide
Lunar caustic                                 Silver nitrate
Lye                                             Sodium hydroxide
Magnesia                                    Basic magnesium carbonate
Marsh gas                                 methane
Massicot                                     Lead monoxide
Mohr's salt                                 Ferrous ammonium sulphate
Muriatic acid                                Hydrochloric acid
Nitre                                             Potassium nitrate
Orpiment                                     Arsenic trisulphide
Oxymuriatic acid                         Chlorine gas
Paris green                                     Copper arsenite
Plaster of Paris                             Calcium sulphate
Plumbago                                  Graphite
Potash                                       Potasssium carbonate
Purple of Cassius                       Colloidal gold
Pyrites (iron)                          Ferrous  sulphide
Realgar                                 Arsenic disulphide
Red lead / Minium                  Lead tetroxide
Rochelle salt                           Sodium potassium tartrate
Sal ammoniac                        Ammonium chloride
Sal volatile                             Ammonium carbonate
Saltpeter /  Sal Petrier                   Potassium Nitrate
Saltpeter,  Norwegian                 Calcium nitrate
Selenite                                  Calcium sulphate
Spirit of Nitre                         Nitric acid
Spirits of  salt                              Hydrochloric acid
Sugar of lead                               Lead Acetate
Table salt                                 Sodium chloride
Tartar Emetic                            Potassium antimonyl tartrate
Tripoli                                      Diatomaceous earth
Verdegris                                Copper Acetate   or copper carbonate
Vinegar                                     Acetic acid
Vitriol                                      Sulphuric Acid concentrated
Washing soda                          Sodium carbonate
Water Glass                            Sodium silicate solution
White arsenic                        Arsenious oxide
White Lead                              Lead carbonate
White vitriol                         Zinc sulphate

Cheers, John Burgess, once called ‘Bunts’

2

With all due respect, John, if we buy all our “chemicals” from a
chemical supply house, then the proper chemical names are appropriate.
However, if you went into places of business which commonly stock many
of these common chemicals, they wouldn’t know what you were talking
about if you asked for them by their technical names. Not my job to
educate and enlighten the hardware store, ceramics supply, grocery
store, pool and garden supply clerks of the world, or to put them down
with my technical jargon. Words are meant to communicate. Sometimes
the most technically correct word doesn’t do that very well. "Modern"
ain’t always “better”. The word which gets the point across the
quickest and cheapest (time being money) in a given situation, is the
word for me.

Rene Roberts

who, with hundreds of hours of chemistry lab to her name, still likes
bleach, borax, creme of tartar, Epsom salts, gypsum, kaolin, liver of
sulfur, muriatic acid, plaster of paris, … and
occasionally salt and vinegar on her fish and chips.

3

I think that what John was doing here was making more sources
available by educating us on what we might be looking for. That really
is our job if we intend to use these items. Often times research in
older texts might be hampererd by a few of these ancient names. Sure
makes things a lot more convenient if we know what we’re talking
about.

Bruce Holmgrain
JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler
http:\www.goldwerx.com

4

I think I may not have understood John’s intent in this and other of
his postings, about the use of common names for some chemicals instead
of their technically accurate names. Of course it’s always a good
thing to know the accurate name for whatever it is you’re talking
about. In my (perhaps) overly feisty tongue in cheek way I was only
trying to suggest that sometimes it’s OK, and even appropriate, to use
the common names as well. Sorry for whatever misunderstanding this has
created. Rene Roberts

5 
I think that what John was doing here was making more sources
available by educating us on what we might be looking for.

Hi Bruce, The more I have the happier I am. Universal
latin chemical names are especially helpful, if you are searching for
the product where english isn’t the norm, as often happens here in LA,
where you can go for miles before you hear unbroken english
spoken…and my Armenian IS a little rusty… Or, where unlike me,
the person you are dealing with happens to have some training and
education. If the more names I have for the same thing, ups my chances
of obtaining it, then I’m all for it. Here’s hoping that I’m not too
old, too dense, or too lazy to learn something new…uh…I mean
…old…Especially if its going to help me out. You can never be too
smart…you can however be…oh never mind…Thanks for the help
and the work John.