Saltpetre - meaning and definition. What is Saltpetre
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What (who) is Saltpetre - definition

CHEMICAL COMPOUND
Salt peter; Saltpetre; Chilean saltpetre; KNO3; Potasium Nitrate; Nitrate of potash; Potassium Nitrate; E252; Salt petre; Salt Peter; Pottasium nitrate; Kno3; Vesta powder; Saltpeteir; Saltpeter; Sal petrae; Nitre bed; Nitre beds
  • A demonstration of the oxidation of a piece of [[charcoal]] in molten potassium nitrate
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saltpetre         
n.
Nitre, nitrate of potash.
saltpetre         
[s?:lt'pi:t?, s?-]
(US saltpeter)
¦ noun potassium nitrate or (Chile saltpetre) sodium nitrate.
Origin
ME: from OFr. salpetre, from med. L. salpetra, prob. representing sal petrae 'salt of rock' (i.e. found as an encrustation); the change in the first element was due to assoc. with salt.
Saltpetre         
·noun 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 curing meat, and in medicine as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and refrigerant.

Wikipedia

Potassium nitrate

Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula KNO
3
. This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3, and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate. It occurs in nature as a mineral, niter (or nitre in the UK). It is a source of nitrogen, and nitrogen was named after niter. Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter (or saltpetre in the UK).

Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. It is one of the major constituents of gunpowder (black powder). In processed meats, potassium nitrate reacts with hemoglobin and myoglobin generating a red color.

Examples of use of Saltpetre
1. The fire–hoops – covered in flax and cotton, dipped in brandy and coated with pitch and saltpetre – were the knights‘ own invention.