Talk:List of straight-chain alkanes

Numerical prefixes (Greek vs. Latin)
Why is nona- used in the alkane system as if it were Greek?? It isn't; it's Latin. 66.245.65.78 23:48, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Ask whoever decided what these should be called. :) -- Schnee 01:45, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Well, who decided what these should be called?? 66.245.108.212 23:55, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Don't ask me - maybe Google knows, though. -- Schnee 00:17, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * What phrase should I search for?? 66.245.108.212 00:17, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * "alkane naming conventions" or something like that, maybe. -- Schnee 02:27, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * I did a Google search on that exact phrase and I got 0 results. 66.245.102.125 02:29, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Then try something else. I'm not your babysitter, y'know. :) -- Schnee 02:34, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * I'd say IUPAC probably decided on the naming conventions. but thats just a guess. Actually, I check it out, and Alkanes are listed under IUPAC nomenclature. It's probably like that for a reason. SECProto 19:28, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * It is indeed standard IUPAC nomenclature. See, for example, this page. I think this is pretty clearly correct. --Pmetzger 19:48, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

Disputed tag
This appears to be a listing of "normal" alkanes (i.e. unbranched alkanes). Should all of the "n-" prefixes be removed? I am going on the definition of alkanes from the Alkane page, so if anyone disagrees then it may just be a consistency issue. I am also unsure if (for example) butane is the common name for the group of IUPAC-named compounds butane and methylpropane. Perhaps this could also be clarified if the article is changed. -- postglock 05:41, 16 September 2005 (UTC)


 * n-Butane is different than isobutane, hence the "n-" is needed for the common name. Olin


 * The n prefix is not used in IUPAC or CAS nomenclature; I think we should drop it. Itub 15:59, 6 February 2006 (UTC)


 * I think that's why the column title is "Common Name" instead of "IUPAC Name". dil 04:11, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I think that the point needs to be made somewhere at the top of the list that this is a list of unbranched alkanes. Otherwise, it makes it seem as though these are the only alkanes in existence. 144.96.68.14 01:27, 19 October 2005 (UTC)ShimDaddy

I've noted that these are "straight-chain" alkanes on the page. Should we also say "unsubstituted"? Also, perhaps the page name should be changed if this is going to be strictly the unsubstituted straight chain alkanes. --Pmetzger 19:51, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I agree - either the name of the page should be changed to reflect that these are the unbranched alkanes or branched (and cyclic) alkanes should be included as well. Incorporating the non-linear ones may make the list prohibitively large, so I would probably vote for a name change. dil 20:31, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Additional Information
Does anyone see any value in adding additional information to this table e.g. CAS numbers? dil 20:34, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Merge with Alkanes
I realize the deletion request was in the past, but couldn't this be merged with alkane? Olin


 * If it were merged into alkane, would it be proper to include some kind of list of branched alkanes to go with this one? dil 04:15, 9 February 2006 (UTC)


 * I think it would be better to leave this article seperate; there are just too many alkanes to include in the alkane article. Also, I don't see what is disputed about this page, but I'll take a closer look. Fuzzform 23:43, 13 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Since my proposal seems to have a negative response, I'll remove the merger notice. Olin 03:24, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Removed disputed tag
I've just removed the disputed tag. It's too silly to label an article as "factual accuracy disputed" just because we are discussing which nomenclature system to use. The names with or without the n prefix are both accurate; the only difference is that only the latter is the IUPAC name (but the article doesn't claim anything about the nomenclature system used). Itub 02:11, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Remove redirects to "alkane", or otherwise distinguish alkanes that have their own page
Having every molecule that lacks its own article link back to the alkane page just makes it hard to see which alkanes DO have their own page.


 * Agreed. Suggest remove redirects to 'alkane'. This is a misuse of the redirect system. 'Tetradecane' is not another word that means 'alkane', it is a particular compound. Either we do have an article on it or we don't. If we don't, it's better that it's clear there is no article on it. ralmin 04:46, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

List of n-alkanes
This ain't a list of alkanes, this is a list of n-alkanes! The article should be renamed (and, to make it more useful, some properties could be added, like boiling point, freezing point, octane number, etc). Albmont (talk) 13:50, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree. I'll move it to List of straight-chain alkanes. Someone can start a List of branched alkanes if they care. I'll skip the second suggestion: too much bother. Crystal whacker (talk) 23:39, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Error.. Not...
Earlier, I wrote: "I don't think that "methyl hydride" should be listed as a synonym for methane...."

The Wikipedia page about hydrates has resolved my confusion, and another user edited the methanol page to redirect others arriving at it via the common misnomer "methyl hydrate" to the right (clathrate) page.

Edited remains of earlier post..."Methane clathrate is an association of methane and water molecules creating a curious substance with special properties important to global warming issues."

Tkbwik (talk) 14:14, 21 January 2009 (UTC) Revised... Tkbwik (talk) 11:38, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Impossible number of isomers
Dear current page-keeper/page censor. The two columns which go on forever with ever increasing numbers are preposterous. The references do not support these lists. Also, the numbers are absurd for one simple reason. The estimated number of particles in the known universe is about 10^82 or thereabouts. You cannot have therefore 10^46 isomers of a compound with a chain of 2 atoms each since 10^46 is more than half of 10^82. If you cannot see this, you should not be editing this page. Lastly, there is absolutely no need to include so many significant digits in engineering notation. Customarily, 1 or 2 digits are included after de decimal point. Sadly, Wikipedia could have been a great thing! 71.221.167.209 (talk) 04:56, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Oh my no! 1046 is 1/1036th of 1082. 1046 is 1/10th of 1047. 1046 is 1/100th of 1048. 1046 is 1/1,000th of 1049. And so on. One half of 1082 is 5.0 x 1081. If you cannot see this, you should not be editing this page!
 * Also many things are counted which results in numbers of items that could not all exist. For instance: the game-tree complexity of chess was first calculated by Claude Shannon as 10120, a number known as the Shannon number. but you could never set up all of those chess boards either simultaneously nor consecutively.
 * Finally, Dear Anomymous User, you clearly do not understand Wikipedia. There is no Current Page-Keeper, and no Page Censor. This article page can be edited by anyone, including you. I myself have made over 8,000 edits, most of which persist, ever though several thousand are over a decade old. Nick Beeson (talk) 15:57, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

"C100H202" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C100H202&redirect=no C100H202] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Utopes (talk / cont) 07:04, 6 October 2023 (UTC)