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potassium |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Potassium \Po*tas"si*um\, n. [NL. See {Potassa}, {Potash}.] (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). Note: 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}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: potassium n : a light soft silver-white metallic element of the alkali metal group oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts violently with water; is abundant in nature in combined forms occurring in sea water and in carnallite and kainite and sylvite [syn: {K}, {atomic number 19}] From Elements database 20001107 [elements]: potassium Symbol: K Atomic number: 19 Atomic weight: 39.0983 Soft silvery metallic element belonging to group 1 of the periodic table (alkali metals). Occurs naturally in seawater and a many minerals. Highly reactive, chemically, it resembles sodium in its behavior and compounds. Discovered by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807.
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