PARAFFIN; PARAFFINE n.
maceti, tasteless and odorless, and obtained from coal tar, wood tar, petroleum, etc., by distillation. It is used as an illuminant and lubricant. It is very inert, not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents. It was formerly regarded as a definite compound, but is now known to be a complex mixture of…
PETROLATUM n.
misolid unctuous substance, neutral, and without taste or odor, derived from petroleum by distilling off the lighter portions and purifying the residue. It is a yellowish, fatlike mass, transparent in thin layers, and somewhat fluorescent. It is used as a bland protective dressing, and as a substitute for fatty materia…
PETROLEUM n.
ne series, but may vary much in appearance, composition, and properties. It is refined by distillation, and the products include kerosene, benzine, gasoline, paraffin, etc. Petroleum spirit, a volatile liquid obtained in the distillation of crude petroleum at a temperature of 170° Fahr., or below. The term is rather lo…
POISON n.
Amyris (A. balsamifera) found in the West Indies, from the trunk of which a black liquor distills, supposed to have poisonous qualities. (b) The poison sumac (Rhus venenata). [U. S.] -- Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac. -- Poison fang (Zoöl.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which,…
PROOF a.
the elastic limit. -- Proof sheet. See Proof, n., 5. -- Proof spirit (Chem.), a strong distilled liquor, or mixture of alcohol and water, containing not less than a standard amount of alcohol. In the United States "proof spirit is defined by law to be that mixture of alcohol and water which contains one half of its…
PROPIONIC a.
Pertaining to, derived from, or designating, an organic acid which is produced in the distillation of wood, in the fermentation of various organic substances, as glycerin, calcium lactate, etc., and is obtained as a colorless liquid having a sharp, pungent odor. Propionic acid is so called because it is the first or lo…
PUNCH n.
A beverage composed of wine or distilled liquor, water (or milk), sugar, and the juice of lemon, with spice or mint; -- specifically named from the kind of spirit used; as rum punch, claret punch, champagne punch, etc. Milk punch, a sort of punch made with spirit, milk, sugar, spice, etc. -- Punch bowl, a large bowl i…