Symbols are both an aid and an obstacle to thought ... There is always the danger ... faced by the student of chemical science, for without symbols systematic advance is impossible: the symbols are ...

It happens all over the periodic table. The chemical symbol for lead is Pb. For mercury, Hg. For antimony, Sb. My chemistry teacher in high school cracked up every time she referred to the symbol for ...

Oh dear—π day 2016 has gone by and I still haven’t memorized p in what I used to call the ‘‘elementary’’ way that I invented some decades ago. Somebody recently suggested the much better name ...