So I have a question. I see this done both ways in fics. Is kryptonite capitalized or not?
Okay, I know we usually see kryptonite capitalized, and most people assume this because the word is based on the word Krypton as in the planet Krypton. The element krypton is not capitalized. I don't agree that kryptonite should be capitalized, and I’ll give you my reasoning. The elements in the periodic table are not capitalized. Otherwise you would see the words sodium, potassium, calcium, etc. capitalized. Even elements that were named after places and people - ie: germanium (Ge) - for Germany, californium (Cf) - for the State of California and for the University of California, curium (Cm) - for Pierre and Marie Curie, and rutherfordium (Rf) - for Ernest Rutherford. Yes, when you see a list of the elements, they might be capitalized, but then most lists are capitalized. It is somewhat common to capitalize the abbreviations - ie: Na for sodium, K for postassium, Ca for calcium, etc.

Here’s the link where I got the info about the names… periodic elements

So what do you guys think?

I read once that according to comic book law, the word kryptonite is not capitalized when standing on its own, but if the mention is paired with the descriptor - eg. Red Kryptonite or Green Kryptonite - that both words are capitalized, even though the colors are not normally.

I don't remember where I read that. It might have been on a Superman site, or it might have been in a thread on these or Zoom's boards, perhaps posted by Tank or Paul.

Kathy

As far as I'm aware, the current policy of the Archive is that it's entirely up to the author. We accept both versions, with capital or without. I have a very, very vague memory of this perhaps being mentioned at some point, and I do have a Grammar FAQ update to get to from way back which I've not had time to do yet, but I'm not sure whether there will be any changes made to this policy any time soon.

For myself (talking just as an author here, not in any capacity as a GE or as EIC of the Archive) I tend not to capitalise kryptonite. That I recall (I can't claim to have thought about it in any great detail.). But I know that other authors prefer to use a capital.

Nancy, we'd prefer if you kept private email correspondence private, unless you have the permission of the person who sent you the email to reproduce in public what they've said to you in private.

Giving a general account of what someone's opinion on something was in an email to you - just as you've done in the quoted para above - is fine, but copying and pasting their words verbatim is seen as more of an infringement of their privacy. This especially goes for GE/author correspondence, which we tend to try and treat as confidential as much as possible. Thanks.

LabRat

Yes, I’m aware of that. I’m just curious as to what others think.

I didn’t mean any harm in what I said, LabRat. I’ve edited what I said.

I understood that, Nancy. Questions like this come up all the time on this forum. Yours doesn't strike me as being anything out of the ordinary. You seem to have taken offence at my post and consider you've been taken to task unfairly over it. I can assure you that I didn't - and don't - consider your asking this question to be anything out of the ordinary at all. It seems a perfectly legitimate thing to do to ask what others think about it if you're curious about it. Just because the Archive policy is that...well, there is no real policy <g>...doesn't mean that others won't have an opinion or that you or they shouldn't share it. And, to be honest, I don't think there was anything in my previous post that gave that impression. However, I apologise if you misunderstood the intent of what I said earlier.

As for the email - you made a mistake. It happens. I don't think it's a huge deal and I certainly didn't think you were trying to cause problems or trouble with it.

Thanks for editing your previous post. Although, as I stated in my previous post, I didn't think the paragraph that I've quoted required editing out. It was just fine as it was.

LabRat

No, really I didn't, LabRat. I just didn't want to come across as rude.

No problem, Nancy. Misunderstandings all round, I think. It's NOT a big deal, so there's no reason to feel bad about it. Don't worry about it.

I hope you get some answers to your question.

LabRat

I think the word Kryptonite should be capitalized, simply because it's a NAME. But I don't think that the "green" or "red" should be capitalized when they're used with the word Kryptonite, because they're just descriptive words about the Kryptonite. Therefore: green Kryptonite and red Kryptonite.

Of course, I have never really been consistent about this myself, so sometimes, I don't capitalize any of it at all, and sometimes I capitalize the green and red too.

And I don't know about anyone else, but I've seen "Oxygen" and "Helium" and other elements capitalized quite often.

I'm going to fall into the non-cap version of kryptonite - it's a noun, like table, oxygen, dog, meteorite, earth(dirt).
It's not a proper noun (name) like George, Irving, Frank, Earth(planet).
The way I figure it Kryptonite is the trademarked version. While kryptonite is found in meteorites (either from Smallville or Addis Ababa)

Trademarked version? What?

A trademark is a trade name for a product (like Xerox for photocopy, Kleenex for bath tissue) Maybe STAR Labs or Lex Luthor trademarked Kryptonite for kryptonite? (okay, it's made a bad joke)

I know what a trademark is, but I didn't know what you meant by "Kryptonite" being the trademarked version.

I think "Kryptonite" is trademarked by DC, so they tend to capitalize it.

Then again, there are Kryptonite bike locks...

I agree, though, that as an element or (somewhat) natural substance, there's no real need for the capitalization. Still tend to use it myself, though, out of habit.

Meantime, though... Looking at the discussion between Lab and Classica, I've got to say... I love these boards.

Paul

It never even occurred to me until I read this thread that anyone would capitalize it. Like gold, silver or diamonds, kryptonite isn't a proper name. If you're referring to the planet Krypton, that would be capitalized. But not kryptonite.

But, hey, what do I know? I just wrote a story where for the first half I capitalized 'judge' every time I used it and for the second half didn't capitalize it at all, because I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to or not . But maybe by capitalizing it for the first half and not for the second, I've covered all my basis

ML

LOL, Paul. And you missed most of it, because the bulk of it took place over in PM.

Have to say though, as usual, Nancy's set up an intriguing discussion. I'd never thought too deeply about this one before, but the posts so far have been very interesting. I might have to refer back to it if I ever get the time to get that darned Grammar FAQ update done.

LabRat

in regards to capitalizing the word Kryptonite but not the descriptive red or green I'd say I definitely disagree. I'm of two minds about whether or not the word should be capitalized at all, so I have no opinion on that subject, but if the logic you're going by is that Kryptonite is a name then you'll have to capitalize the descriptive red or green because in this case the red and green isn't just a descriptor like a red car but is describing an entirely different substance. the difference implied between red and green Kryptonite implies that it's just a color change. The difference implied between Red and Green Kryptonite is that there is significantly more to distinguish the substances than simply their color.

On the topic of whether it should be capitalized at all? I'm sure that in the trademark it's capitalized. However, the argument can be made that it should not be. Just like when reffering to china plates we don't capitalize the word "china" anymore because it's not a proper noun any longer. kryptonite is a substance.

*muses* hey you know I have the offical novelization of the death and return of Superman. let's see...

kryptonite is not capitalized. However I find no use of the green or red qualifiers, but he was most definitelly reffering to green kryptonite (as is the assumption made when reffering to a generic piece of the rock.) Since it's not capitalized when reffering to a green piece generically I can see no reason to capitalize it when reffering to a green piece specifically, and therefore no reason to capitalize red (or any other descriptor one might have). Looks like when it comes to non-comic format typography they treat it like the word china.

But frankly? I really don't think it's something that will cause a massive rift in the space time continuum if it gets capitalized on occasion.

Well, this idea that it should be capitalized if Red or Green is in front of is quite interesting. One form of sodium (liquid I believe - liquid sodium - not salt dissolved in water) is silver. So if red or green kryptonite is capitalized then should we capitalize Silver Sodium? One form of copper is green. Should we capitalize Green Copper? In that same vein, should we capitalize Liquid Oxygen? Or should it be liquid oxygen, green copper, and silver sodium?

Would somebody actualy be able to trademark an element? Maybe... I don't know. I guess if it's a created element, it could certainly be trademarked. But kryptonite was part of a planet. It wasn't created in a lab. I bet there was some salt, and some oxygen, and some potassium and nitrogen on Krypton, too. (Interesting... We capitalize Krypton, but half the time earth is not capitalized... Hmmmm..... )


Nope, but it is an interesting question.

There are actually rules on that one. The name of the third planet of the Sol system is Earth. The stuff you grow plants in is earth. (But what does that say about a people who call their planet dirt?)

The way I remember the capitalization rules for "earth" is this:

I do things on/in/with/under the earth, but I live on Earth (or on the planet Earth).

Yes, Dandello and Darcy, that's the way I learned earth / Earth, too, but I don't usually see that being used like that. (And I do capitalize Earth when I'm speaking of the planet... I was making a point... )

I like how there is a Krypton gas. I wonder if that element was somewhat common on Krypton.

Hmmm... Kryptonite, with a capital 'K', looks right to me. But maybe that's just because I've read so many comics? Naaaahhh... because everything is capitalized in the comics, as lowercase letters aren't used there. Oh, but I've read a few books based on the Superman comics, and Kryptonite was capitalized there. So I'll stick with the capital 'K', I think, and I hope Nancy (and others) won't mind!

Ann

Nah, I don't mind. I was just going on the principal that other elements weren't capitalized...

According to wikipedia...
Kryptonite

Kryptonite, when it is in the middle of a paragraph, is spelled 'kryptonite' or at least that is how they treated it.

James

Not "somewhat common." Incorrect otherwise. (Ask my former chemistry and general science students about losing points for getting it wrong. ) Element abbreviations are always either a single capital letter (O, N, C, H) or a capital letter followed by a lowercase letter (Cl, Sn, Au, Br). Element names are not supposed to be capitalized (unless they are the first word of the sentence).

As for colors, all pure sodium is silverish (as are most metals). And pure copper isn't green; the green patina is actually a copper compound called bronchanite .

It is actually relatively uncommon for a pure element to come in different colors. There are a few. Phosphorus , which comes in white, red, and black is one of them. We don't capitalize "red phosphorus," though (or the other colors either).

Carbon is another coming in black (coke) a silvery grey-black (graphite) and transparent (diamonds)

If I had to make a guess, any time a pure element can take on more than one crystaline or amorphous configuration that's going to change its appearance and probably color, possibly substantially.

and since I'm chattering about pure element colors: much to the surprise of many scientists who assumed that pure oxygen would be completely transparent: it actually has a pale blue tinge in liquid form.

The green patina copper takes on is often reffered to as verdigris. (Still considered a french word and hence italicized rather than a loaner word that wouldn't be. gotta love English.)

Coal and graphite are actually the same form of carbon. Light reflects differently off chunks v. small pieces, basically. (There is a third form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene, but it doesn't actually look very different from powdered graphite to the naked eye.)

Absolutely. And that's exactly the case with carbon and phosphorus and a few others (like oxygen and sulfur). But most pure elements don't have multiple forms (aka allotropes ).