The property or condition of existing in multiple distinct physical forms while being composed of the same chemical element.
From Greek 'allos' (other) and 'tropos' (turning) plus '-ism'. Term developed in chemistry during the 19th century to explain allotropic phenomena.
Allelotropism blew chemists' minds when they realized the same element could have completely different properties in different forms! Oxygen and ozone are both just oxygen atoms arranged differently—same element, wildly different behaviors.
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