potassium bromide

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KBr, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic papers and plates, in engraving, and in medicine as a sedative.

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potassium bromide British  

noun

1. a white crystalline soluble substance with a bitter saline taste used in making photographic papers and plates and in medicine as a sedative. Formula: KBr

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Etymology

Origin of potassium bromide

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

potassium bromide

Some bromide salts, notably potassium bromide, were found to be natural sedatives, and were prescribed in the 19th Century as a remedy for epilepsy.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2014

If it occur early in the disease, it will generally be sufficient to prescribe at bedtime ten grains each of potassium bromide and chloral, repeated once or twice during the night.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

For the same reason, contrary to common opinion, I do not advise the addition of potassium bromide to the developer.

From Bromide Printing and Enlarging A Practical Guide to the Making of Bromide Prints by Contact and Bromide Enlarging by Daylight and Artificial Light, With the Toning of Bromide Prints and Enlargements by Tennant, John A.

Here, then, by a direct appeal to experiment, we prove that to all appearance comparatively useless excess of potassium bromide is really one of the most important constituents of the emulsion.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 384, May 12, 1883 by Various

Some advertisers condemn all the bromides, and prescribe a mixture of them; others condemn potassium bromide, and shamelessly forward a pure solution of this same salt in water as a "positive cure!"

From Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia Their Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment by Briggs, Isaac George