The origins of chemical nomenclature date back to the 18th century.
From the Latin nomenclatūra , nomenclature is a list of names for people or things. In biology , nomenclature is a subdiscipline of taxonomy that is responsible for regulating the names of taxa. In this way, confusion is avoided and the organization of scientific knowledge is facilitated.
Chemical nomenclature is the set of rules used to name combinations of elements and chemical compounds. As with biological nomenclature, there is an international authority responsible for establishing these rules.
Origins of chemical nomenclature
In this field we must underline the fact that the origin of the mentioned nomenclature is found in a document that was presented and published at the end of the 18th century. Specifically, it was in the year 1787 when the «Méthode de nomenclature chimique» was published.
Several scientists were responsible for carrying out the experiment, which was based on the composition of the chemical elements that were the protagonists of the experiment. Specifically, these chemists were Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Antoine-François de Fourcroy, Claude Louis Berthollet and Antoine Lavoisier.
Inorganic and organic compounds
In addition to all the above, we must make it clear that there are two different systems. One is for nomenclature for inorganic compounds and another for organic compounds.
The first of these, commonly known as the "Red Book", is based on two fundamental criteria when naming compounds. On the one hand, the number of chemical elements that compose them is taken into account, and on the other hand, the chemical function they perform.
Regarding the second nomenclature system, that of organic compounds, we could highlight that it is further subdivided into several other systems: the radicofunctional, additive, substitution, replacement or multiplicative systems. All this without overlooking the fact that there are others that receive the qualification of special.
However, both of the general systems mentioned in the chemical nomenclature are governed by the rules imposed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), an entity that was put into operation in the 1920s.
The elite that ran the state bureaucracy of the USSR is known as the Soviet nomenklatura.
Soviet nomenclature
The nomenklatura or Soviet nomenclature is a term used to refer to the elite of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) that led the state bureaucracy. The nomenklatura held the main administrative positions and enjoyed privileges derived from their functions.
The nomenklatura began as a list of highly responsible jobs that were to be performed by members of the Communist Party . Over time, the word came to be used to refer to the people who held such positions and performed the jobs. Being part of the nomenklatura, therefore, entailed a certain function in the state apparatus and various social benefits.
Many Soviet thinkers criticized the nomenklatura because they considered that it attacked the essence of communism , by constituting itself as a privileged class within what, in theory, should have been a society of equals.
Finally, the combined nomenclature refers to the codes for goods in the common customs system of the European Union (EU) . This nomenclature was adopted in 1987 .