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Niter
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<h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2> <p>Niter is a colorless to white mineral crystallizing in the <a href="/facts/Orthorhombic/3zo4F8P0">orthorhombic</a> <a href="/facts/Crystal_system/dMQLk1q4">crystal system</a>. It is the mineral form of <a href="/facts/Potassium_nitrate/TycqMdcG">potassium nitrate</a>, KNO3,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> and is soft (<a href="/facts/Mohs_hardness/wXBMcVIm">Mohs hardness</a> 2),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> highly soluble in water,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> and easily fusible. Its crystal structure resembles that of <a href="/facts/Aragonite/QGcD3SLs">aragonite</a>, with potassium replacing calcium and nitrate replacing carbonate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> It occurs in the soils of arid regions and as massive encrustations and <a href="/facts/Efflorescent/MVErNa6p">efflorescent</a> growths on <a href="/facts/Cave/SNfJTJtM">cavern</a> walls and ceilings where solutions containing <a href="/facts/Alkali/s6NqPGSP">alkali</a> potassium and nitrate seep into the openings.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> It occasionally occurs as prismatic <a href="/facts/Acicular_(crystal_habit)/PGMnp4TX">acicular</a> crystal groups, and individual crystals commonly show pseudohexagonal <a href="/facts/Crystal_twinning/7xU6CKfR">twinning</a> on [110]. Niter and other nitrates can also form in association with deposits of <a href="/facts/Guano/5qlRUtsV">guano</a> and similar organic materials.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="history-and-etymology">History and etymology</h2> <p>Niter as a term has been known since ancient times, although there is much historical confusion with <a href="/facts/Natron/1lm9rD1y">natron</a> (an impure sodium carbonate/bicarbonate), and not all of the ancient salts known by this name or similar names in the ancient world contained nitrate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> The name is from the <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Ancient Greek</a> νιτρων <i>nitron</i> from <a href="/facts/Ancient_Egyptian_language/mSqys6jC">Ancient Egyptian</a> <i>netjeri</i>, related to the <a href="/facts/Hebrew/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a> <i>néter</i>, for salt-derived ashes (their interrelationship is not clear).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>The Hebrew <i>néter</i> may have been used as, or in conjunction, with <a href="/facts/Soap/S3nJa1oY">soap</a>, as implied by <a href="/facts/Jeremiah/t84GuvY5">Jeremiah</a> 2:22, "For though thou wash thee with niter, and take thee much soap..." However, it is not certain which substance (or substances) the Biblical "neter" refers to, with some suggesting <a href="/facts/Sodium_carbonate/P6RHvIoK">sodium carbonate</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Neo-Latin/mbBrTVEd">Neo-Latin</a> word for <a href="/facts/Sodium/eYuSPu2V">sodium</a>, <i>natrium</i>, is derived from this same class of desert minerals called <i>natron</i> (French)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> through Spanish <i>natrón</i> from Greek νίτρον (<i>nitron</i>), derived from Ancient Egyptian <i>netjeri</i>, referring to the sodium carbonate salts occurring in the deserts of Egypt, not the <a href="/facts/Nitratine/9xeT4nWd">nitratine</a> (nitrated sodium salts) typically occurring in the deserts of <a href="/facts/Chile/uEyTfEcx">Chile</a> (classically known as "Chilean saltpeter" and variants of this term).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a>[<i>self-published source?</i>] </p><p>A term (ἀφρόνιτρον, <i>aphronitron</i> or <a href="/facts/Aphronitre/Um9T5Pcn">aphronitre</a>) which translates as "foam of niter" was a regular purchase in a fourth-century AD series of financial accounts, and since it was expressed as being "for the baths" was probably used as soap.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p><p>Niter was used to refer specifically to nitrated salts known as various types of <a href="/facts/Saltpeter_(disambiguation)/HEcYQ9Xu">saltpeter</a> (only nitrated salts were good for making gunpowder) by the time niter and its derivative <a href="/facts/Nitric_acid/UDbwGp6s">nitric acid</a> were first used to name the element <a href="/facts/Nitrogen/Nf1QpGDz">nitrogen</a>, in 1790.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="availability">Availability</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Potassium_nitrate/TycqMdcG">Potassium nitrate § Historical production</a></p> <p>Because of its ready solubility in water, niter is most often found in arid environments and often in conjunction with other soluble minerals like <a href="/facts/Halide/ujYu8kGD">halides</a>, <a href="/facts/Iodate/n60p0YSa">iodates</a>, <a href="/facts/Borate/5XwkBTv1">borates</a>, <a href="/facts/Gypsum/MItYU70n">gypsum</a>, and rarer carbonates and sulphates.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> Potassium and other nitrates are of great importance for use in <a href="/facts/Fertilizer/ysh3r6NJ">fertilizers</a> and, historically, <a href="/facts/Gunpowder/AEcB6HCR">gunpowder</a>. Much of the world's demand is now met by synthetically produced nitrates, though the natural mineral is still mined and is still of significant commercial value.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> </p><p>Niter occurs naturally in certain places like the "Caves of Salnitre" (<a href="/facts/Collbat%C3%B3/ttPdomlg">Collbató</a>) known since the Neolithic. In the "Cova del Rat Penat", <a href="/facts/Guano/5qlRUtsV">guano</a> (bat excrements) deposited over thousands of years became saltpeter after being <a href="/facts/Leaching_(pedology)/K1VtSsXB">leached</a> by the action of rainwater. </p><p>In 1783, <a href="/facts/Giuseppe_Maria_Giovene/00sMWh8q">Giuseppe Maria Giovene</a> and <a href="/facts/Alberto_Fortis/5BhkPrGS">Alberto Fortis</a> together discovered a "natural nitrary" in a <a href="/facts/Sinkhole/yrjCajL2">doline</a> close to <a href="/facts/Molfetta/PJyLKA6Y">Molfetta</a>, Italy, named <a href="/facts/Pulo_di_Molfetta/nU4wcecf">Pulo di Molfetta</a>. The two scientists discovered that niter formed inside the walls of the caves of the doline, under certain conditions of humidity and temperature.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> After the discovery, it was suggested that manure could be used for agriculture, in order to increase the production, rather than to make gunpowder.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> The discovery was challenged by scholars until chemist Giuseppe Vairo and his pupil Antonio Pitaro confirmed the discovery. Naturalists sent by academies from all Europe came in large number to visit the site; since niter is a fundamental ingredient in the production of gunpowder, these deposits were of considerable strategic interest.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a>: 8–10 The government started extraction. Shortly thereafter, Giovene discovered niter in other caves of <a href="/facts/Apulia/svvnMLN5">Apulia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a>: 9–10 <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> The remnants of the extraction plant is a site of <a href="/facts/Industrial_archaeology/r0GuMTEQ">industrial archaeology</a>, although currently not open to tourists.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="similar-minerals">Similar minerals</h2> <p>Related minerals are soda niter (<a href="/facts/Sodium_nitrate/8WteItRf">sodium nitrate</a>), ammonia niter or <a href="/facts/Gwihabaite/Gj5nMKmD">gwihabaite</a> (<a href="/facts/Ammonium_nitrate/aSc96wBX">ammonium nitrate</a>), nitrostrontianite (<a href="/facts/Strontium_nitrate/6Cwl4Hrs">strontium nitrate</a>), nitrocalcite (<a href="/facts/Calcium_nitrate/t4aY1BqH">calcium nitrate</a>), nitromagnesite (<a href="/facts/Magnesium_nitrate/QGuBypE5">magnesium nitrate</a>), nitrobarite (<a href="/facts/Barium_nitrate/LnaMRtLd">barium nitrate</a>) and two copper nitrates, <a href="/facts/Gerhardtite/IkLWJ7VX">gerhardtite</a> and buttgenbachite; in fact all of the natural elements in the first three columns of the <a href="/facts/Periodic_table/umdGIfUb">periodic table</a> and numerous other cations form nitrates which are uncommonly found for the reasons given, but have been described. Niter was used to refer specifically to nitrated salts known as <a href="/facts/Saltpeter_(disambiguation)/HEcYQ9Xu">various types of saltpeter</a> (only nitrated salts were good for making <a href="/facts/Gunpowder/AEcB6HCR">gunpowder</a>) by the time niter and its derivative <a href="/facts/Nitric_acid/UDbwGp6s">nitric acid</a> were first used to name the element <a href="/facts/Nitrogen/Nf1QpGDz">nitrogen</a>, in 1790. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Caliche/MATKYcUo">Caliche</a> – Calcium carbonate based concretion of sediment</li> <li><a href="/facts/Nitratine/9xeT4nWd">Nitratine</a> - Sodium based fertilizer</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niter. <ul><li><a href="http://www.balashon.com/2008/07/neter-and-nitrogen.html">Etymology of "niter"</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19970430135256/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/POE/cask.html">Poe's <i>The Cask of Amontillado</i></a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Definition of nitre". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 11, 2016. <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitre" target="_blank">http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitre</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Jackson, Julia A., ed. (1997). "niter". Glossary of geology (Fourth ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: American Geological Institute. ISBN 0922152349. <a href="0922152349" target="_blank">0922152349</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (2005). "Niter" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved December 28, 2021. <a href="http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/niter.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/niter.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Jackson, Julia A., ed. (1997). "niter". Glossary of geology (Fourth ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: American Geological Institute. ISBN 0922152349. <a href="0922152349" target="_blank">0922152349</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Klein, Cornelis; Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. (1993). Manual of mineralogy : (after James D. Dana) (21st ed.). New York: Wiley. p. 418. ISBN 047157452X. <a href="047157452X" target="_blank">047157452X</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Jackson, Julia A., ed. (1997). "niter". Glossary of geology (Fourth ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: American Geological Institute. ISBN 0922152349. <a href="0922152349" target="_blank">0922152349</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (2005). "Niter" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved December 28, 2021. <a href="http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/niter.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/niter.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Jackson, Julia A., ed. (1997). "niter". Glossary of geology (Fourth ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: American Geological Institute. ISBN 0922152349. <a href="0922152349" target="_blank">0922152349</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"nitre". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) <a href="https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=nitre" target="_blank">https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=nitre</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Haberfield, Paul (January 1985). "What's in a name: NaNO3". Journal of Chemical Education. 62 (1): 56. Bibcode:1985JChEd..62...56H. doi:10.1021/ed062p56. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"natrium". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) <a href="https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=natrium" target="_blank">https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=natrium</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"nitre". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) <a href="https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=nitre" target="_blank">https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=nitre</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Curwin, David (2008). "neter and nitrogen". <a href="http://www.balashon.com/2008/07/neter-and-nitrogen.html" target="_blank">http://www.balashon.com/2008/07/neter-and-nitrogen.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>More conventional soap also appears in the accounts but was more expensive: John Matthews, The Journey of Theophanes, Yale UP 2006 <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"nitrogen". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) <a href="https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=nitrogen" target="_blank">https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=nitrogen</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Reeves, C. C. (November 24, 1978). "Economic Significance of Playa Lake Deposits". Modern and Ancient Lake Sediments. pp. 279–290. doi:10.1002/9781444303698.ch15. ISBN 9780632002344. <a href="9780632002344" target="_blank">9780632002344</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Ericksen, G.E. (1983). "The Chilean Nitrate Deposits: The origin of the Chilean nitrate deposits, which contain a unique group of saline minerals, has provoked lively discussion for more than 100 years". American Scientist. 71 (4): 366–374. JSTOR 27852136. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Barnum, Dennis W. (December 2003). "Some History of Nitrates". Journal of Chemical Education. 80 (12): 1393. Bibcode:2003JChEd..80.1393B. doi:10.1021/ed080p1393. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Burkhardt, John J.; Heath, Garvin A.; Turchi, Craig S. (March 15, 2011). "Life Cycle Assessment of a Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power Plant and the Impacts of Key Design Alternatives". Environmental Science & Technology. 45 (6): 2457–2464. Bibcode:2011EnST...45.2457B. doi:10.1021/es1033266. PMID 21391722. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fes1033266" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fes1033266</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Pietro Filioli (1837). "Necrologia – Giuseppe Maria Giovene – Arciprete della Cattedrale Chiesa di Molfetta". Annali Civili del Regno delle Due Sicilie (in Italian). 25, gennaio e febbraio. Tipografia del Real Ministero degli Affari Interni nel Reale Albergo de' Poveri: 39. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=CC1FAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA35" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=CC1FAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA35</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Opuscoli scelti sulle scienze e sulle arti tratti dagli Atti delle Accademie, e dalle altre Collezioni filosofiche, e letterarie, e dalle opere più recenti inglesi, tedesche, francesi, latine, e italiane, e da manoscritti originali, e inediti: 12" (in Italian). 1789. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=hr3g4qMtHfsC&pg=PA301" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=hr3g4qMtHfsC&pg=PA301</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Andrea Tripaldi (1841). "Elogio storico del canonico arciprete Giuseppe Maria Giovene". Memorie di Matematica e di Fisica della Società Italiana delle Scienze Residente in Modena (in Italian). 22. Modena: Tipi della R. D. Camera. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0mmRYNPjNBAC&pg=PR1" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=0mmRYNPjNBAC&pg=PR1</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Andrea Tripaldi (1841). "Elogio storico del canonico arciprete Giuseppe Maria Giovene". Memorie di Matematica e di Fisica della Società Italiana delle Scienze Residente in Modena (in Italian). 22. Modena: Tipi della R. D. Camera. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0mmRYNPjNBAC&pg=PR1" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=0mmRYNPjNBAC&pg=PR1</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Giuseppe Maria Giovene (August 7, 1784). Lettera del Sig. canonico D. Giuseppe Maria Giovene, Vicario generale di Molfetta, al Sig. Abate Alberto Fortis, contenente varie osservazioni sulla nitrosità naturale della Puglia (in Italian). Molfetta. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=hr3g4qMtHfsC&pg=PA309" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=hr3g4qMtHfsC&pg=PA309</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>"PER VEDERE IL PULO DI MOLFETTA ACCONTENTATEVI DI ARRAMPICARVI!". molfettafree.it.[permanent dead link] <a href="https://www.molfettafree.it/content_/zoom.asp?id_news=7117" target="_blank">https://www.molfettafree.it/content_/zoom.asp?id_news=7117</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>