Name Variations[]
- potassium nitrate
- saltpetre
- potassium salt
About Saltpeter[]
Wikipedia Article About Saltpeter on Wikipedia
The chemical compound potassium nitrate is a naturally occurring mineral source of nitrogen. It is a nitrate with chemical formula KNO3. When it burns, it shows a bright pink to purple color.
Its common names include saltpetre (from Medieval Latin sal petrae: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt of Petra"), American English salt peter, Nitrate of potash and nitre. The name salt peter is also applied to sodium nitrate.