PRUSSIAN a.
a dark blue amorphous substance having a coppery luster, obtained by adding a solution of potassium ferrocyanide (yellow prussiate of potash) to a ferric salt. It is used in dyeing, in ink, etc. Called also Williamson's blue, insoluble Prussian blue, Berlin blue, etc. -- Prussian carp (Zoöl.) See Gibel. -- Prussian g…
ROCHELLE n.
s. Same as Seidlitz powders. -- Rochelle salt (Chem.), the double tartrate of sodium and potassium, a white crystalline substance. It has a cooling, saline, slightly bitter taste and is employed as a mild purgative. It was discovered by Seignette, an apothecary of Rochelle, and is called also Seignete's salt.…
ROMAN a.
rals, as distinguished from the Arabic numerals, 1, 4, etc. Roman alum (Chem.), a cubical potassium alum formerly obtained in large quantities from Italian alunite, and highly valued by dyers on account of its freedom from iron. -- Roman balance, a form of balance nearly resembling the modern steelyard. See the Note u…
SAL n.
Salt. Sal absinthii Etym: [NL.] (Old Chem.), an impure potassium carbonate obtained from the ashes of wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium). -- Sal acetosell\'91 Etym: [NL.] (Old Chem.), salt of sorrel. -- Sal alembroth. (Old Chem.) See Alembroth. -- Sal ammoniac (Chem.), ammonium chloride, NH4Cl, a white crystalline vola…
SALICYLIC n.
aining to, derived from, or designating, an acid formerly obtained by fusing salicin with potassium hydroxide, and now made in large quantities from phenol (carbolic acid) by the action of carbon dioxide on heated sodium phenolate. It is a white crystalline substance. It is used as an antiseptic, and in its salts in th…
SALT n.
n atoms which are only partially exchanged for metallic atoms or basic radicals; as, acid potassium sulphate is an acid salt. (b) A salt, whatever its constitution, which merely gives an acid reaction; thus, copper sulphate, which is composed of a strong acid united with a weak base, is an acid salt in this sense, thou…
SALTPETER; SALTPETRE n.
Potassium nitrate; niter, a white crystalline substance, KNO3, having a cooling saline taste, obtained by leaching from certain soils in which it is produced by the process of nitrification (see Nitrification, 2). It is a strong oxidizer, is the chief constituent of gunpowder, and is also used as an antiseptic in curin…
SOAP n.
ls with alkalies or alkaline earths, usually by boiling, and consists of salts of sodium, potassium, etc., with the fatty acids (oleic, stearic, palmitic, etc.). See the Note below, and cf. Saponification. By extension, any compound of similar composition or properties, whether used as a cleaning agent or not.…