sixfold

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/3795687

"Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century."

I hear many of these terms in common usage today, like potash, tartar, spirits, soda/soda ash, lime, soda lime, slacked lime, quicklime, lye, alkali, caustic soda, caustic potash, caustic alkali, quicksilver, chalk, cinnabar, fools gold, fulminating silver, fulminating gold, gypsum, vitriol has taken on a less specific meaning, aqua regia, turpentines, lead sugar, sulfur.

I think the reason that so many of these terms are retained is that the substances they refer to have been known for thousands of years in some cases.

brimstone is a much cooler name for sulfur that should be brought back. aqua vitae is a nice name for ethanol. the names of metals haven't changed.

"Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century."

I hear many of these terms in common usage today, like potash, tartar, spirits, soda/soda ash, lime, soda lime, slacked lime, quicklime, lye, alkali, caustic soda, caustic potash, caustic alkali, quicksilver, chalk, cinnabar, fools gold, fulminating silver, fulminating gold, gypsum, vitriol has taken on a less specific meaning, aqua regia, turpentines, lead sugar, sulfur.

I think the reason that so many of these terms are retained is that the substances they refer to have been known for thousands of years in some cases.

brimstone is a much cooler name for sulfur that should be brought back. aqua vitae is a nice name for ethanol. the names of metals haven't changed.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/3732588

A nice trip up and down the scale of things. I especially like the ones from 10^1 to 10^14, inhumane numbers attempting to be brought to a human scale.

Source: CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulas (Zwillinger, Daniel) (Z-Library)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/3732588

A nice trip up and down the scale of things. I especially like the ones from 10^1 to 10^14, inhumane numbers attempting to be brought to a human scale.

Source: CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulas (Zwillinger, Daniel) (Z-Library)

A nice trip up and down the scale of things. I especially like the ones from 10^1 to 10^14, inhumane numbers attempting to be brought to a human scale.

Source: CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulas (Zwillinger, Daniel) (Z-Library)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/3152363

Figs and fig wasps have a tightly coordinated reproductive cycle, and have been cospeciating for 70 to 90 million years. The pollination of figs is accomplished in an internal cavity only accessible to a specific species of wasp. The wasp enters through an opening that is only just large enough for it to get through, loosing it's wings and antenna in the process. Pollen on the wasp pollinate the fig's internal flowers, and the wasp lays it's eggs in some of the flowers before dying there. When the male wasps hatch, they fertilize the unhatched females, and burrow tunnels out of the fig before also dying inside it. When the females hatch, they exit the fig through the tunnels, taking pollen with them to search for a fig within which to lay their eggs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syconium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig_wasp

Figs and fig wasps have a tightly coordinated reproductive cycle, and have been cospeciating for 70 to 90 million years. The pollination of figs is accomplished in an internal cavity only accessible to a specific species of wasp. The wasp enters through an opening that is only just large enough for it to get through, loosing it's wings and antenna in the process. Pollen on the wasp pollinate the fig's internal flowers, and the wasp lays it's eggs in some of the flowers before dying there. When the male wasps hatch, they fertilize the unhatched females, and burrow tunnels out of the fig before also dying inside it. When the females hatch, they exit the fig through the tunnels, taking pollen with them to search for a fig within which to lay their eggs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syconium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig_wasp