These notes are intended
to help the general public get the most out of SOLV-DB.
Chemicals, like T. S. Eliot's
cats, generally have several different names. That's because
different names serve different purposes.
- Systematic names are
intended to allow you to deduce the structure of a
chemical from its name. Chemical structures can get very
complicated. So can the names. These unwieldy
monstrosities (the "deep and inscrutable, singular
names" of the chemical world) are great for
chemists, but trying to type them into a data entry box
or even find them in a list will drive even the experts
to hissy fits. Therefore,
- Common names are the
ones typically used in ordinary conversation, even by
chemists, and are generally the primary names chosen for
listing in SOLV-DB. Trouble is, these "sensible,
everyday names" are not unique. Several different
names can refer to the same chemical. In some cases, the
same nickname can be used for different chemicals. When
you hear references to "trichlor" on the shop
floor, you won't know if your co-workers are talking
about "trichloroethane" or
trichloroethylene". And if this isn't confusing
enough, you will also encounter
- Trade names, those
snappy, catchy monikers that marketers use to
differentiate their products from the competition. Many
of the solvents listed in SOLV-DB are mixtures of
chemicals, and the trade name is the most convenient --
often the only -- designation for a particular brew.
There is, at least, generally uniqueness in one
direction. A trade name typically, though not always,
specifies a compound or mixture unambiguously (they are
the "peculiar", if not always "more
dignified" names for the solvents). But the
uniqueness does not work in the other direction. The same
compound or mixture can have as many different trade
names as there are suppliers for it.
Because of this plethora of
names, SOLV-DB includes a Synonyms
Table.
