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amyl nitrite
noun
- a yellowish, fragrant, flammable liquid, C 5 H 11 NO 2 , used in medicine chiefly as a vasodilator, especially in the treatment of angina pectoris: misused by inhalation as a stimulant, especially of sexual sensation.
amyl nitrite
noun
- a yellowish unstable volatile fragrant liquid used in medicine as a vasodilator and in perfumes. Formula: (CH 3 ) 2 CHCH 2 CH 2 NO 2
Example Sentences
Troye Sivan, âRushâ Better hope your VCR doesnât need cleaning soon, because this song cleared stores of amyl nitrite.
The bandâs name, which probably began as a play on âAmy,â is a reference to amyl nitrite, a cardiac drug thatâs also used recreationally.
The band take their name from a mix of her own first name and the liquid chemical drug amyl nitrite, which won a late exclusion from the UK ban on legal highs back in 2016.
âWhere everything is a silent and tactile experience, gentleness is a very potent language. And the racial divides are largely gone. It wasnât so much the fact that I was having sex as the fact that I was lying naked in someone elseâs arms, feeling tenderness. And thatâs why I went back night after nightâ â with amyl nitrite in a container âlike a silver lipstickâ around his neck.
Miss Clark had been drinking lager and vodka before the attack and had inhaled the party drug amyl nitrite.
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More About Amyl Nitrite
Amyl nitrite vs. amyl nitrate: Whatâs the difference?
Amyl nitrate is a chemical compound used as a diesel additive. It is often confused with amyl nitrite, a substance used to treat certain heart conditions and abused as a recreational drug commonly known as poppers.
Amyl nitrateâchemical formula C5H11NO3âis a slightly but significantly different chemical from amyl nitrite, C5H11NO2. Nitrates have three oxygen molecules while nitrites have two.
How do you pronounce amyl nitrate?
[ am-il nahy-treyt ]How do you pronounce amyl nitrite?
[ am-il nahy-trahyt ]âWhere did the terms amyl nitrate and amyl nitrite come from?
Documented in scientific literature in the 1850s, amyl nitrate is a water-like compound that speeds up organic chemical reactions, often added to diesel fuel to accelerate ignition.Ìę Amyl nitrite, meanwhile, was synthesized in 1844 by French chemist Antoine Balard, best known for his co-discovery of bromine. English physicians applied the chemical to the treatment of heart conditions and angina.
Because it relaxes blood vessels and increases oxygen supply to the brain, amyl nitrite results in head rushes, increased sensuality, and other elements of intoxication. It was notably abused as a recreational drugâhuffed and known by the slang name of poppersâin the 1970s. Poppers were particularly popular among the young gay male population and briefly suspected of causing AIDS.
The fuel additive amyl nitrate is not consumed recreationally and can result in serious harm if inhaled. An amyl nitrite overdose, as it happens, mirrors the symptoms of ingesting amyl nitrate: sickness, bruising, and even heart failure.
How to use amyl nitrate and amyl nitrite
Amyl nitrate is mainly used in technical contexts by scientists and mechanics, who are familiar with the substance as a fuel additive.
Amyl nitrite is generally used by a physician or pharmacist handling it as a medicine. Recreational users of the drug call the substance by a number of slang names, including thrust, rock hard, kix, TNT, liquid gold, and poppers.
As amyl nitrate and amyl nitrite are very close in spelling, they are easily and often confused. Be mindful of their differences when using the terms.
More examples of amyl nitrate and amyl nitrite:
âPoppers are a yellowish or clear liquid with a very low vapour pointâŠAmyl nitrite should not be confused with amyl nitrate. Amyl nitrate is used as an additive in diesel fuel to accelerate the ignition of the fuel.â
âJulaine Allan, The Conversation, September 2016
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the termâs history, meaning, and usage.
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