cellulose nitrate

American  

[sel-yuh-lohs nahy-treyt, ‐trit] / ˈsɛl yəˌloʊs ˈnaɪ treɪt, ‐trɪt /

noun

1. nitrocellulose.

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cellulose nitrate British  

noun

1. Also called (not in chemical usage): nitrocellulose.  a compound made by treating cellulose with nitric and sulphuric acids, used in plastics, lacquers, and explosives: a nitrogen-containing ester of cellulose See also guncotton

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Etymology

Origin of cellulose nitrate

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

The warehouse is owned by the national film institute, Cinemateca, and houses South America’s largest collection of films, some made of cellulose nitrate, a highly flammable material.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 29, 2021

The sequins on two dresses are plagued by “inherent vice”—a degradation of cellulose nitrate.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 16, 2015

In recent years a nonexplosive cellulose nitrate type acetate X-ray film has been developed, but the films in the clinic were evidently of the more common and highly inflammable cellulose nitrate type.

From Time Magazine Archive

If instead of dissolving the cellulose nitrate and spreading it on fabric we combine it with camphor we get celluloid, a plastic solid capable of innumerable applications.

From Creative Chemistry Descriptive of Recent Achievements in the Chemical Industries by Slosson, Edwin E.

The growth is rapid, and a considerable quantity of the vegetable growth accumulates round the masses of cellulose nitrate, but no growth is observed if mineral matter is absent.

From Researches on Cellulose 1895-1900 by Cross, C. F.