Fulminating silver is a term applicable to a number of silver based explosives which "fulminate" or detonate easily and violently, causing lab accidents and serious injuries. Like fulminating gold it's of great interest to medieval alchemists. DO NOT TRY AT HOME.
Stability of the compounds can vary, depending on how they are stored or handled, with levels of hydration often being a major factor. Rate of decomposition is important to know as decomposition can be involved in creation of explosives.
The term "fulminating silver" is ambiguous. It can refer to various explosive silver compounds, including silver fulminate, silver nitride, or silver azide, a breakdown product of Tollen's reagent or an alchemical blend without the fulminate anion.
Fulminating silver may refer to:
Silver Fulminate (Argentous fulminate)
Silver fulminate (AgCNO) is the highly explosive silver salt of fulminic acid. A primary explosive, silver fulminate is highly sensitive to impact, heat, pressure, and electricity. Even small amounts can trigger an explosion with a light touch, water drop, or static discharge.
It self-detonates easily, preventing aggregation in large quantities. Nonetheless it's the only fulminating silver stable enough to adapt for commercial use. Edward Charles Howard synthesizes it in 1800 along with mercury fulminate.
Silver Azide, AgN3
Silver azide, with the chemical formula AgN3, is a silver(I) salt derived from hydrazoic acid, forming colorless crystals. Like many azides, this compound is highly explosive.
Synthesis of silver azide involves the reaction of an aqueous solution of silver nitrate with sodium azide, resulting in the precipitation of silver azide as a white solid. Sodium nitrate remains in the solution.
A decomposition product of Tollens' reagent
The reagent is named after the German chemist who invents it in the early 19th century. It consists of a mixture of silver nitrate (lapis infernalis, lunar caustic), ammonium hydroxide (a solution of ammonia in water) and some sodium hydroxide (lye, caustic soda).
The reagent is known to have a very short shelf life and its decomposition renders an explosive. In the lab it has to be made as needed. Tollens' reagent is also used to apply a silver mirror to glassware; for example the inside of an insulated vacuum flask.
Silver Nitride, Ag3N
One of the earliest silver based explosives, silver nitride is the alchemical substance argentum fulminans meaning fulminating silver. Silver nitride is a black, metallic-looking solid.
It's formed when silver oxide or silver nitrate is dissolved in concentrated ammonia solutions, causing formation of the diammine silver complex which subsequently breaks down to Ag3N. An endothermic compound, it decomposes explosively to metallic silver and nitrogen gas.
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