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CHNS is not a usual abbreviation for thiocyanic acid. The C-N triple bond means that those two letters are normally kept together. The usual abbreviation is HSCN. I think that this should go back to being a redirect to the FM station. --Bejnar (talk) 07:25, 11 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
There a number of approaches to representing chemical structures. Condensed formulas, which are a form of structural formulas, take into account connectivity. HSCN falls into that group.
Molecular formulas are written using a predefined order of elements. As an illustration of this convention could serve a content of the Category:Molecular formula set index pages. In rare cases where molecular formulas overlap with unrelated terms, it is necessary to use a generic disambiguation.
Do you have a citation for this convention for writing molecular formulas? How widely is it used? Given the large number of acronyms, it does not seem to me to be such a rare case where molecular formulas overlap with other terms. --Bejnar (talk) 18:09, 11 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
There is IUPAC recommendation on writing molecular (empirical) formulas (G.J. Leigh Obe, H.A. Favre, W.V. Metanomski. Principles of Chemical Nomenclature, A Guide to IUPAC Recommendations(PDF). p. 9. ISBN0-86542-685-6. The simplest kind of formula is a compositional formula or empirical formula, which lists the constituent elements in the atomic proportions in which they are present in the compound. For such a formula to be useful in lists or indexes, an order of citation of symbols (hierarchy) must be agreed. Such hierarchies, often designated seniorities or priorities, are commonly used in nomenclature. For lists and indexes, the order is now generally recommended to be the alphabetical order of symbols, with one very important exception. Because carbon and hydrogen are always present in organic compounds, C is always cited first, H second and then the rest, in alphabetical order. In non-carbon-containing compounds, strict alphabetical order is adhered to.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)). The majority of IUPAC recommendations are used throughout chemical literature and various database systems. The overlap between formulas and generic terms is infrequent, except for the very simple molecules.--Dcirovic (talk) 18:59, 11 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
