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General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: chiralSPO on 17/01/2022 16:25:38

Title: scientific homophones (english)
Post by: chiralSPO on 17/01/2022 16:25:38

Phosphenes are visual artifacts, while phosphines are chemical compounds in which a phosphorus atom is bonded to three organic (or H) substituents and has a lone pair.

Humans are people, while humins are organic compounds found in the soil.

Can anybody identify other pairs of homophones between a scientific jargon term and a "normal" word, or jargon from different fields?

Title: Re: scientific homophones (english)
Post by: Bored chemist on 17/01/2022 17:34:17

The classic example in chemistry is periodic acid.
We also wonder about stuff being unionised (rather than ionised).