nitric acid
noun1
Chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A transparent, colorless to pale yellow, fuming corrosive liquid, HNO₃; a highly reactive oxidizing agent used in the production of fertilizers, explosives, and rocket fuels and in a wide variety of industrial processes.
- Instantly a little vapour arose from it, as happens when one disturbs nitric acid, and this sight did not increase my hopes, already faint enough, of the efficacy of the treatment.1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- Derived terms
- orthonitric acid, red fuming nitric acid, white fuming nitric acid
- Related terms
- nitrate, nitro-, nitrogen dioxide