fuming nitric acid

noun

1. a colorless, yellowish, or brownish fuming corrosive liquid, usually prepared from nitric acid by the addition of excess nitrogen dioxide: used in organic synthesis for nitration, and as an oxidizer in liquid propellants for rockets.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fuming nitric acid¹

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

Transfer the precipitate (after washing free from chlorides) to a Berlin dish, and treat cautiously with fuming nitric acid.

From Project Gutenberg

Concentrated nitric acid highly charged with this substance is called fuming nitric acid.

From Project Gutenberg

An acid saturated with red oxides of nitrogen is often known as “fuming nitric acid.”

From Project Gutenberg

The meta-compound is obtained by the action of fuming nitric acid on nitro-benzol at a boiling temperature.

From Project Gutenberg

Fuming nitric acid does not separate sulphur, but converts the sulphide into sulphate.

From Project Gutenberg