| a colorless poisonous gas, HCN, having a bitter almondlike odor: in aqueous solution it forms hydrocyanic acid. |
| hydrogen cyanide n. A colorless, volatile, extremely poisonous flammable liquid, HCN, miscible in water and used in the manufacture of dyes, fumigants, and plastics. It becomes a gas at 26°C. |
hydrogen cyanide n.
A colorless, volatile, extremely poisonous flammable liquid miscible in water and used in the manufacture of dyes and fumigants.
| hydrogen cyanide
A colorless, flammable, extremely poisonous liquid. Salts derived from it have many industrial uses, such as hardening iron and steel, extracting metals from ores, electroplating metallic surfaces, and making acrylonitrile, from which acrylic fibers and plastics are produced. It is also used to make dyes and poisons. A solution of hydrogen cyanide in water forms a colorless acid called hydrocyanic acid. Chemical formula: HCN. |
hydrogen cyanide
a highly volatile, colourless, and extremely poisonous liquid (boiling point 26 C [79 F], freezing point -14 C [7 F]). A solution of hydrogen cyanide in water is called hydrocyanic acid, or prussic acid. It was discovered in 1782 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who prepared it from the pigment Prussian blue. Hydrogen cyanide and its compounds are used for many chemical processes, including fumigation, the case hardening of iron and steel, electroplating, and the concentration of ores. It also is employed in the preparation of acrylonitrile, which is used in the production of acrylic fibres, synthetic rubber, and plastics.
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