saltpeter

Example Sentences

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Tultepec was one of the first places that began to produce gunpowder in Mexico during the colonial period, because of the town’s abundant supply of saltpeter, a key ingredient.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 9, 2024

He was perhaps the world’s leading expert on the history of mining for saltpeter, a primary ingredient in gunpowder, which in the 19th century was often harvested from caves.

From New York Times • Dec. 16, 2022

Sometime between 600 and 900 CE, a mix of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal — saltpeter, or rudimentary gunpowder — was poured into bamboo or paper tubes.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2021

Many of the records come from the Confederate nitre and mining bureau, which was set up to produce saltpeter, among other things.

From Washington Post • Jul. 9, 2020

Gunpowder was even harder to get, but all over New England saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal were being ground to a paste, made into gunpowder.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes