Fulminate

<p>Fulminates are <a href="/facts/Chemical_compound/37FXqqtv">chemical compounds</a> which include the fulminate <a href="/facts/Ion/3bePpDna">ion</a> (CNO−, C−≡N+−O−). The fulminate ion is a <a href="/facts/Pseudohalic/9DMN43ya">pseudohalic</a> ion because its charge and <a href="/facts/Reactivity_(chemistry)/PuJ2pmRT">reactivity</a> are similar to those of the <a href="/facts/Halogen/YeFgWHeA">halogens</a>. The name is derived from the Latin <i>fulminātus</i>, meaning to explode like lightning, and reflects that fulminate <a href="/facts/Salts/lsSKwGpn">salts</a> are friction-sensitive <a href="/facts/Explosive/sUme5Pp8">explosives</a> due to the instability of the ion. The best known is <a href="/facts/Mercury(II)_fulminate/tYFQEUkz">mercury(II) fulminate</a>, which has been used as a <a href="/facts/Primary_explosive/sUme5Pp8">primary explosive</a> in <a href="/facts/Detonator/SoXrXl08">detonators</a>. Fulminates can be formed from metals, such as <a href="/facts/Silver/xXe41BGg">silver</a> and <a href="/facts/Mercury_(element)/WlxfoHva">mercury</a>, dissolved in nitric acid, and reacted with <a href="/facts/Ethanol/3lCLfBSP">ethanol</a>. The weak single nitrogen-oxygen bond is responsible for their instability. Nitrogen very easily forms a stable <a href="/facts/Triple_bond/poDWRayX">triple bond</a> to another nitrogen atom, forming nitrogen gas.
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Fulminate open-in-new

Fulminate