allotropy
Noun
Meaning
The property of existing in two or more conditions which are distinct in their physical or chemical relations.
Source: Webster's dictionarySynonyms
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Although many other chemists have repeated this advice, IUPAC and most chemistry texts still favour the usage of allotrope and allotropy for elements only.
By 1912, Ostwald noted that the allotropy of elements is just a special case of the phenomenon of polymorphism known for compounds, and proposed that the terms allotrope and allotropy be abandoned and replaced by polymorph and polymorphism.
History The concepts of allotropy was originally proposed in 1841 by the Swedish scientist Baron Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848). citation.
Polymorphism and allotropy main The same group of atoms can often solidify in many different ways.
The ability of an element to exist in one of many structural forms is known as 'allotropy'.