potassium sodium tartrate
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Definition
- Noun:
- A double salt used in Seidlitz powder; acts as a cathartic: Potassium sodium tartrate is a chemical compound, specifically a double salt, known for its primary historical use as the active ingredient in Seidlitz powders, a type of effervescent laxative.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The pharmacist explained that potassium sodium tartrate was the key component in the old-fashioned remedy.
- Potassium sodium tartrate is formed by combining tartaric acid with potassium and sodium.
Advanced Usage
- Chemical and Culinary Context: While its medicinal use is historical, potassium sodium tartrate (often referred to by its common name, Rochelle salt) is important in other fields. It is used in electroplating, as a buffer in chemistry, and was a key ingredient in early baking powder formulations.
- In the laboratory, a solution of potassium sodium tartrate is used to prepare Fehling's reagent for testing reducing sugars.
- The unique piezoelectric properties of potassium sodium tartrate crystals made them useful in early microphones and phonograph pickups.
Variants and Related Words
- Rochelle salt (n): The common name for potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate.
- The recipe for the crystal-growing experiment called for Rochelle salt.
- Seidlitz powder (n): A historical effervescent cathartic medicine whose active ingredient was potassium sodium tartrate.
- Seidlitz powders, containing potassium sodium tartrate, were a popular over-the-counter remedy in the 19th century.
- Tartrate (n): A salt or ester of tartaric acid. Potassium sodium tartrate is a specific type of tartrate.
- Cream of tartar is potassium bitartrate, a different tartrate from potassium sodium tartrate.
Synonyms
- Rochelle salt: The most widely recognized synonym in scientific and industrial contexts.
- Sodium potassium tartrate: An alternative name reflecting the same chemical composition.
Related Terms
- Cathartic (n/adj): A substance that accelerates defecation; laxative. This describes the primary medicinal function of potassium sodium tartrate in Seidlitz powders.
- The cathartic effect of the powder was due to the potassium sodium tartrate.
- Double salt (n): A salt that crystallizes from an aqueous solution containing two different salts in definite proportions. This is the chemical classification of potassium sodium tartrate.
- Potassium sodium tartrate is a classic example of a double salt.
Noun
- a double salt used in Seidlitz powder; acts as a cathartic