mercury fulminate

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a gray, crystalline solid, Hg(CNO) 2 , used chiefly in the manufacture of commercial and military detonators.

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Etymology

Origin of mercury fulminate

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

The product obtained, which is mercury fulminate, is 112 per cent. of the mercury employed.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

Pure mercury fulminate may be kept an indefinite length of time.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

Chemistry advances, like the isolation of mercury fulminate in 1800, led to the invention of the percussion cap and other primers.

From Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America by Manucy, Albert

At first the mixture blackens from the separation of mercury, but this soon vanishes, and is succeeded by crystalline flocks of mercury fulminate which fall to the bottom of the vessel.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

The observation that acetylene can be resolved into its constituents by detonation is due to Berthelot, who started an explosive wave in it by firing a charge of 0.1 gram of mercury fulminate.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg