TIL that no one knows what the "p" in "pH" stands for
TIL that no one knows what the "p" in "pH" stands for
www.nature.com Urban legends of chemistry | Nature Chemistry
Michelle Francl reminds us that even a rigorous scientific discipline such as chemistry has its own myths and legends — and explains why this isn't such a bad thing.
"Power" (or "Potenz" or "puissance") is the most common claim, but potential, pondus, and percent are also common. When the original author designated it, he implied that it was just a random mathematical letter, akin to x, and that it didn't stand for anything, although from context one could argue it stood for potential?
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