silver nitrate (redirected from Devil's stone)

silver nitrate (nī`trāt), chemical compound, AgNO₃, a colorless crystalline material that is very soluble in water. The most important compound of silver, it is used in the preparation of silver salts for photography, in chemical analysis, in silver plating, in inks and hair dyes, and to silver mirrors. It is used in medicine in the treatment of eye infections and gonorrhea. Fused silver nitrate is also called lunar caustic. Taken internally silver nitrate is a poison. It is prepared by reaction of nitric acid with silver, and purified by recrystallization. It is darkened by sunlight or contact with organic matter such as the skin.

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silver nitrate

Inorganic compound (AgNO₃), colourless, transparent crystals with a bitter, caustic, metallic taste. The most important silver compound, it is used to prepare other silver salts, to silver mirrors, and as a reagent in analysis. It is very soluble in water; dilute solutions are effective against gonococcal bacteria and may be applied to newborns' eyes to prevent blindness from gonorrhea. Ingesting silver nitrate causes violent abdominal pain and gastroenteritis.

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silver nitrate [′sil·vər ′nī‚trāt]

(inorganic chemistry)

AgNO₃Poisonous, corrosive, colorless crystals; soluble in glycerol, water, and hot alcohol; melts at 212°C; used in external medicine, photography, hair dyeing, silver plating, ink manufacture, and mirror silvering, and as a chemical reagent.