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.
used as a cleansing agent. Soap is produced by combining fats or oils 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 compositi…
SODIUM n.
therwise. -- Sodium bicarbonate, a white crystalline substance, HNaCO3, with a slight alkaline taste resembling that of sodium carbonate. It is found in many mineral springs and also produced artificially,. It is used in cookery, in baking powders, and as a source of carbonic acid gas (carbon dioxide) for soda water.…
SULPHUR n.
antimonic sulphide, Sb2S5, -- formerly a famous nostrum. -- Sulphur base (Chem.), an alkaline sulphide capable of acting as a base in the formation of sulphur salts according to the old dual theory of salts. [Archaic] -- Sulphur dioxide (Chem.), a colorless gas, SO2, of a pungent, suffocating odor, produced by the bu…
TEAR n.
A drop of the limpid, saline fluid secreted, normally in small amount, by the lachrymal gland, and diffused between the eye and the eyelids to moisten the parts and facilitate their motion. Ordinarily the secretion passes through the lachrymal duct into the nose, but when it is increased by emotion or other causes, it…
THRUSH n.
thrush, Breve, and Pitta. -- Babbling thrush, any one of numerous species of Asiatic timaline birds; -- called also babbler. -- Fruit thrush, any species of bulbul. -- Shrike thrush. See under Shrike. -- Stone thrush, the missel thrush; -- said to be so called from its marbled breast. -- Thrush nightingale. See N…