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Glite Dictionary
thiosulfate

thiosulfate

1 8.0
A chemical used to fix photos and in some lab tests
  • noun
  • /ˌθaɪoʊˈsʌlfeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tiosulfato
  • However, the water still maintained the same level of total ammonia (ammonia value after thiosulfate dechlorination).
  • sodium thiosulfate

Examples

  • In photography, sodium thiosulfate is commonly used as a fixer to make the image permanent.

  • But I have here a most interesting substance I wanted to tell you about and that is sodium thiosulfate solution.

  • So that's a four to one ratio thiosulfate to oxygen.

  • But if I now drop in a crystal, a tiny crystal of sodium thiosulfate, a tiny crystal, there she goes.

  • Even sodium thiosulfate is difficult to obtain these days since everybody uses proprietary fixers.

    Academic text (1996)

  • A sample of water was also collected on each occasion in a Pyrex glass bottle containing sodium thiosulfate as a chlorine neutralizer.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Sodium thiosulfate can neutralize chlorine in water, making it a useful reagent in water treatment processes.

  • The chemist explained that sodium thiosulfate is effective in treating certain types of poisoning when administered promptly.

Synonyms

hypo
vsthiosulfate
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A chemical used to make developed photos permanent

is the technical class name rather than an informal label for the fixer
sodium thiosulfate
vsthiosulfate
  • Specialized
7.2

A white salt that dissolves in water and is used to fix photos and treat cyanide poisoning

refers to the general sulfur and oxygen compound type used as fixers or reagents

Compounds

sodium thiosulfate
  • Specialized
7.2

A white salt that dissolves in water and is used to fix photos and treat cyanide poisoning

Surface Forms

thiosulfate singular
thiosulfates plural

Morphology

thiosulfate = sulfate (semi-transparent) = thio + sulfate

The formation is compositional (thio- + sulfate) and indicates a sulfur-containing variant, but the combining form 'thio-' and the specific chemical meaning are technical and not obvious to average learners.

Etymology

Thiosulfate comes from the prefix thio- meaning 'sulfur' and sulfate, the name of a common chemical group named for 'sulfur'. So a thiosulfate is basically a sulfate that contains extra sulfur, which is why it is a compound of sulfur and oxygen used as a fixer in photography and as a chemical reagent.