Pierre Abbat wrote:
I checked "most wanted" and found eight articles linking to "ununbium", which as far as I can figure out is a misspelling, but is much more common on the Web than "ununbiium".
A ratio of 26,200 to 15 on Google is certainly "much more common". ;)
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, it's definitely ununbium. (Online edition: http://www.bartleby.com/61/47/U0124765.html )
As far as I can tell, the temporary element names are formed by stringing together the syllables "nil", "un", "bi", "tri", "quad", etc., and adding "ium" to the end. If "ununbium" were correct, then element 122 would be unbbium, and element 222 would be bbbium, which can't be distinctly pronounced. Does anyone have the definitive document on this?
Wouldn't it be "bibibium"? *ununbiium > ununbium is simply assimilation of a double vowel (ii) into a single one (i).
-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)