Wiktionary
n. (context chemistry English) A naturally occurring potassium salt KNO3, used in the production of nitric acid HNO3, as a food preservative, and is used in toothpaste for sensitive gums.
WordNet
Wikipedia
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula K N O. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K and nitrate ions NO.
It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter or saltpetre.
Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. It is one of the major constituents of gunpowder (blackpowder) and has been used since the Middle Ages as a food preservative.
Potassium nitrate is an oxidizer so storing it near fire hazards or reducing agents should be avoided to minimise risk in case of a fire.
Usage examples of "potassium nitrate".
Derec knew generally how it was made: it was a super form of black powder, using activated charcoal saturated with potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate.
Other constituents of Henbane are a glucosidal bitter principle called hyoscytricin, choline, mucilage, albumin, calcium oxalate and potassium nitrate.
They also contain cane sugar, invertin, a considerable quantity of potassium nitrate and a crystalline substance, Eldrin, which has also been found in other white flowering plants.
And I think we're seeing that the difference between cellulose hexanitrate and potassium nitrate is the difference between flash and fizzle.
Pope Pius XIII, The San Andreas Fault, Herodotus, 2n-l(2n-l) where both n and 2n-l are prime numbers, potassium nitrate, potassium chromate, potassium sulphate .
The paper or linen would usually be impregnated with potassium nitrate for easy ignition and thorough burning.
The potassium nitrate, saltpetre, was at fault, but that again Killick could not know, but he did know when a gun coughed instead of banged.
Primitive black powder: fifteen parts potassium nitrate, three parts sulfur, two parts charcoal .
They would know potassium nitrate as saltpeter, perhaps, a meat preservative .
But how the hell do you get across the concept of potassium nitrate?
It was Leblancs factory, at St Denis near Paris, that manufactured the potassium nitrate that was mixed with charcoal and sulphur to make gunpowder.