Word Finder - nitroglycerin

definition

The compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate or 1,2,3 tri-nitrooxy propane; the ester of glycerol with nitric acid; prepared by the careful addition of a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids to glycerol with constant stirring and cooling; it is a thick, pale yellow liquid, that is highly explosive on concussion or on exposure to sudden heat; it is used in medicine as a vasodilator, and as an explosive in the form of dynamite which is safe to handle.

Nitroglycerin dissolves a little water and then appears thick or milky.

Torpedoing The explosive employed is generally nitroglycerin, Wells.

Generally it is either dried, after being separated from the wash water, by means of common salt, upon a layer of which the moist nitroglycerin is gently run and allowed to drain or filter through, or it is filtered through a mass of dry sponge or similar dry and porous material.

Some solutions of nitroglycerin (in ether, acetone, &c.) burn quietly, and the same is the case when it is held in solution or suspension in a colloid substance, as gelatinized guncotton, &c.

Aniline and similar bases are oxidized and partially nitrated by nitroglycerin, with the production of non-explosive compounds.

Nitroglycerin shaken up with warm very dilute alkaline solutions, as sodium carbonate, for a few minutes only, always yields sufficient nitrite to give the diazoreaction; and, as stated, strong alkaline solutions always produce some nitrite as one of the decomposition products.

They are mostly distinguished by special trade names, and are mainly of two classes - those containing ammonium nitrate and nitrobenzene or nitronaphthalene, and those containing nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose, which are essentially weak dynamites.

Now, however, a miniature torpedo known as a go-devil squib, holding about a quart of nitroglycerin, and having a firing-head similar to that already described, is almost invariably employed.

Formerly the upper end of the highest canister was fitted with a " firing-head," consisting of a circular plate of iron, slightly smaller than the bore of the well, and having attached to its underside a vertical rod or pin carrying a percussion cap. The cap rested on the bottom of a small iron cylinder containing nitroglycerin.

Both are sensitive to percussion, but a little less so than nitroglycerin.

Strong sulphuric acid dissolves nitroglycerin, and this solution on being poured into water yields dinitroglycerin (see Will, loc. cit.) and also some mononitroglycerin.

This gradual conversion in the tissues is a valuable property of nitroglycerin, as its effects take longer to manifest themselves than is the case with amyl and other nitrites.

This is why skin patches make such an effective delivery system for nicotine, nitroglycerin and hormonal birth control.

Once you grasp the depth of passion revealed in a Scorpio male profile, you'll understand why toying with his affections is similar to playing with nitroglycerin.

They are consecutively filled with nitroglycerin, and are lowered to the bottom of the well, one after the other, by a cord wound upon a reel, until the required number have been inserted.

To prevent the freezing of nitroglycerin in dynamite it has been proposed to add various substances, such as chlordinitroglycerin, nitrated diglycerin or tetranitrodiglycerol, and also mono-and di-nitroglycerin.

Shaken with mercury and sulphuric acid, nitroglycerin yields its nitrogen as nitric oxide; the measurement of the volume of this gas is a convenient mode of estimating nitroglycerin.

Calcium or potassium sulphides and potassium hydrosulphides completely reduce nitroglycerin to glycerin, some of the sulphur being oxidized and some precipitated.

The first attempts to utilize the explosive power of nitroglycerin were made by Nobel in 1863; they were only partially successful until the plan, first applied by General Pictot in 1854, of developing the force of gunpowder in the most rapid manner and to the maximum extent, through initiative detonation, was applied by Nobel to nitroglycerin.

The explanation is that in an alkaline medium at body heat nitroglycerin yields a nitrite, probably as a preliminary stage of resolution.

Nitroglycerin is valuable as a preventive in cases of cardiac pain, such as angina pectoris, and it is also used in other conditions where it is desirable to reduce the arterial tension.