Fulminating silver is a historic name which may apply to a number of silver based explosives which "fulminate" or detonate easily and violently. It has no exact

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

or dictionary definition, however it may refer to: *

silver fulminate Silver fulminate (AgCNO) is the highly explosive silver salt of fulminic acid. Silver fulminate is a primary explosive, but has limited use as such due to its extreme sensitivity to impact, heat, pressure, and electricity. The compound becomes pr ...

(which, confusingly, is the only "fulminating silver" to be a silver compound with the

fulminate Fulminates are chemical compounds which include the fulminate ion (). The fulminate ion is a pseudohalic ion because its charge and reactivity are similar to those of the halogens. Due to the instability of the ion, fulminate salts are frictio ...

anion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

) * silver azide, AgN₃ * a mixture, a decomposition product of

Tollens' reagent Tollens' reagent (chemical formula Ag(NH3)2OH) is a chemical reagent used to distinguish between aldehydes and ketones along with some alpha-hydroxy ketones which can tautomerize into aldehydes. The reagent consists of a solution of silver nit ...

silver nitride Silver nitride is an explosive chemical compound with symbol Ag3N. It is a black, metallic-looking solid which is formed when silver oxide or silver nitrate, is dissolved in concentrated solutions of ammonia, causing formation of the diammine silve ...

, Ag₃N - one of the earliest silver based explosives * the alchemical substance "Argentum Fulminans" The stability of many of these compounds can vary depending on how they are stored or handled, with levels of hydration often being a major factor.

References

{{Chemistry index Fulminates Silver compounds