| Here's
a little background on "smelling salts":
First, a search in the Columbia
Encyclopedia via Bartleby.com
redirected to the Columbia Encyclopedia entry on ammonia.
Once arriving at that
page, about halfway down is a definition of smelling salts:
Ammonium
carbonate, (NH3)2CO3·H2O, is a colorless-to-white
crystalline solid commonly known as smelling salts; in
water solution it is sometimes called aromatic spirits
of ammonia.
Want to know a little
more about smelling salts?
Everyone has
seen them used to revive countless athletes when they've been
knocked silly,
back to the
search results to discover how smelling salts actually work...
Discovery.com
explains why people sit up and take notice when smelling
salts are placed beneath their nose: Ammonium carbonate is
mixed with perfume to create a stimulant. The ammonia fumes
from the salts irritate the membranes of the nose and lungs,
which triggers a reflex causing the muscles that control
breathing to work faster.
More...
| The
American Heritage® Dictionary of the
English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| smelling
salts |
| SYLLABICATION: |
smell·ing
salts |
| PRONUNCIATION: |
sm l  ng |
| PLURAL
NOUN: |
(used
with a sing. or pl. verb) Any of various
preparations of ammonium carbonate and perfume,
sniffed as a restorative or stimulant especially to
relieve faintness and headache.
|
|
