On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 12:02:28 -0600 Gavin via ntg-context wrote:

Hi List,

I am still interested in knowing if there is a good way to do nuclear reactions using \chemical.

From the chemical manual: As in mathematical typesetting mode, subscripts and superscripts can precede text. Thus, isotopes (such as this alpha particle, for example), can be written as: \chemical{^4_2He^{2+}}. But compare the alignment of \chemical{_{92}^{238}U} with \chemical{\lohi[left]{92}{238}U}. I have not used chemical formulas for some time, but \chemical{^{235)_{92}U,+,$n$,->,^{94}_{38}Sr,+,^{140}_{54}Xe,+,$2n$} "->" and "GIVES" are synonyms, as are "+" and "PLUS" (also MINUS, SINGLE, DOUBLE, TRIPLE, EQUILIBRIUM, MESOMERIC with ascii and unicode synonyms). Alignment can be altered using \lohi[left]{92}{235} (remember left is flushright) There is also "display mode" for chemical formulae: \startchemicalformula \chemical{text} \chemical{text}{below} \chemical{text}{above}{below} \stopchemicalformula where above and below can be used for labels, etc. Alan

Hi Gavin, maybe you have solved your problem yet. \startformula {\null}^^{194}__{38}{\rm Sr} or {\hbox{Xe}}^^{140}__{54}. \stopformula Better, ConTeXt way could be the variation on \chem: \unexpanded\def\isotope#1#2#3{\dontleavehmode\begingroup\null\lohi[left]{#2}{#3}#1\endgroup} \isotope{Sr}{38}{194} or (with more logical order of parameters) \unexpanded\def\isotope#1#2#3{\dontleavehmode\begingroup\null\lohi[left]{#1}{#2}#3\endgroup} \isotope{38}{999}{Sr} Or for text and math modes together: \unexpanded\def\isotope#1#2#3{% \ifmmode\begingroup\null^^{#1}__{#2}{\rm#3}\endgroup% \else\dontleavehmode\begingroup\null\lohi[left]{\tfx #1}{\tfx#2}\rm#3\endgroup% \fi} \isotope{999}{38}{Sr} \startformula \isotope{999}{38}{Sr} \stopformula You can do it either way, whichever way suits you better. Tomáš ________________________________ Od: ntg-context za uživatele Hans Åberg via ntg-context Odesláno: sobota 15. dubna 2023 22:41 Komu: mailing list for ConTeXt users Kopie: Hans Åberg Předmět: Re: [NTG-context] Nuclear reactions

On 15 Apr 2023, at 19:19, Gavin via ntg-context wrote:

I’m writing nuclear reactions. When add prescripts to atomic symbols with two letters, (Be, Sr, Xe, etc.) the prescripts split the atoms!

One can use Unicode superscript and subscript numbers, as in ²³⁵₉₂U, which is easier to read. For input, an editor supporting text substitutions might be used. ___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / https://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : https://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://context.aanhet.net archive : https://bitbucket.org/phg/context-mirror/commits/ wiki : https://contextgarden.net ___________________________________________________________________________________