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

They're lined with mercury fulminate, and you want to take your shoes off when you come near that.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a more powerful explosive than mercury fulminate, and has been used instead, in the manufacture of detonators.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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 Project Gutenberg