Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Potassium
Po-tas′si-um
,Noun.
(Chem.)
An Alkali element, occurring abundantly but always combined, as in the chloride, sulphate, carbonate, or silicate, in the minerals sylvite, kainite, orthoclase, muscovite, etc. Atomic weight 39.0. Symbol K (Kalium).
☞ It is reduced from the carbonate as a soft white metal, lighter than water, which oxidizes with the greatest readiness, and, to be preserved, must be kept under liquid hydrocarbons, as naphtha or kerosene. Its compounds are very important, being used in glass making, soap making, in fertilizers, and in many drugs and chemicals.
Potassium permanganate
, the salt
– KMnO4
, crystallizing in dark red prisms having a greenish surface color, and dissolving in water with a beautiful purple red color; – used as an oxidizer and disinfectant. The name chameleon mineral
is applied to this salt and also to potassium manganate. Potassium bitartrate
. See
Cream of tartar
, under Cream
.Webster 1828 Edition
Potassium
POTAS'SIUM
,Noun.
Potassium has the most powerful affinity for oxygen of all substances known; it takes it from every other compound, and hence is a most important agent in chimical analysis.