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Glite Dictionary
sodium nitrate

sodium nitrate

1 4.0
A white substance people use as a fertilizer and to make explosives
  • noun
  • /ˈsoʊdiəm ˈnaɪtreɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : nitrato de sodio
  • "Solar Two used molten salt, a combination of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate, as an energy storage medium instead of oil or water as with Solar One.

Examples

  • By treating sodium nitrate with potassium chloride, of course.

    1776 (1972)

  • Hydrolysed vegetable protein, soy bean meal, Niacin, dextrose and sodium nitrate flavouring.

    Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

  • The farmer applies sodium nitrate to the soil to improve crop production.

  • In the production of explosives, sodium nitrate serves as an essential component.

  • A common use of sodium nitrate is as a fertilizer for enhancing plant growth.

Synonyms

soda niter
vssodium nitrate
  • Archaic
9.9

A white crystal used to make plant food and explosives

has the same chemical meaning but uses a different standard name

Surface Forms

sodium nitrate singular
sodium nitrates plural

Morphology

sodium + nitrate

The term is a straightforward chemical compound name formed by combining the element 'sodium' with the anion 'nitrate'; knowing both constituents allows one to infer it is the sodium salt of nitrate (a white crystalline salt used as fertilizer/explosive). This compositional, technical naming pattern is regular and cross-linguistically transparent, so learners who know the parts can derive the overall meaning.

Etymology

Sodium nitrate is like a simple recipe: the metal sodium joined to the nitrate part, a chemical made from nitrogen. Because of this mix, it is a white 'salt' used as a 'fertilizer' to help plants grow and also in some 'explosives', so the name tells you what the substance is and what it does.