the.com/nitre
Saltpeter by another name: the oxidizer that turns charcoal and sulfur into a bang.
means An old name for saltpeter (potassium nitrate), the crystalline salt that supplies oxygen to make gunpowder explode and once was scraped from cellar walls to cure meat and make fertilizer.
from From Latin 'nitrum,' via Greek 'nitron,' tracing back to an ancient word (possibly of Egyptian origin, linked to natron, the mineral salt used in mummification) that originally covered a broader family of mineral salts, not just saltpeter specifically — the meaning narrowed over centuries as chemistry got more precise about what was actually fizzing in the jar.
- chemical id
- potassium nitrate, KNO3
- gunpowder role
- supplies the oxygen fire craves
- old use
- preserved meat before refrigeration existed
- biblical mention
- vinegar on nitre fizzes, per Proverbs