DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Min·er·al, a.
 1. Of or pertaining to minerals; consisting of a mineral or of minerals; as, a mineral substance.
 2. Impregnated with minerals; as, mineral waters.
 Mineral acids Chem., inorganic acids, as sulphuric, nitric, phosphoric, hydrochloric, acids, etc., as distinguished from the organic acids.
 Mineral blue, the name usually given to azurite, when reduced to an impalpable powder for coloring purposes.
 Mineral candle, a candle made of paraffin.
 Mineral caoutchouc, an elastic mineral pitch, a variety of bitumen, resembling caoutchouc in elasticity and softness. See Caoutchouc, and Elaterite.
 Mineral chameleon Chem. See Chameleon mineral, under Chameleon.
 Mineral charcoal. See under Charcoal.
 Mineral cotton. See Mineral wool (below).
 Mineral green, a green carbonate of copper; malachite.
 Mineral kingdom Nat. Sci., that one of the three grand divisions of nature which embraces all inorganic objects, as distinguished from plants or animals.
 Mineral oil. See Naphtha, and Petroleum.
 Mineral paint, a pigment made chiefly of some natural mineral substance, as red or yellow iron ocher.
 Mineral patch. See Bitumen, and Asphalt.
 Mineral right, the right of taking minerals from land.
 Mineral salt Chem., a salt of a mineral acid.
 Mineral tallow, a familiar name for hatchettite, from its fatty or spermaceti-like appearance.
 Mineral water. See under Water.
 Mineral wax. See Ozocerite.
 Mineral wool, a fibrous wool-like material, made by blowing a powerful jet of air or steam through melted slag. It is a poor conductor of heat.
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 Po·tas·si·um n.  Chem. An Alkali element, occurring abundantly but always combined, as in the chloride, sulphate, carbonate, or silicate, in the minerals sylvite, kainite, orthoclase, muscovite, etc. Atomic weight 39.0. Symbol K (Kalium).
 Note: ☞ It is reduced from the carbonate as a soft white metal, lighter than water, which oxidizes with the greatest readiness, and, to be preserved, must be kept under liquid hydrocarbons, as naphtha or kerosene. Its compounds are very important, being used in glass making, soap making, in fertilizers, and in many drugs and chemicals.
 Potassium permanganate, the salt KMnO4, crystallizing in dark red prisms having a greenish surface color, and dissolving in water with a beautiful purple red color; -- used as an oxidizer and disinfectant. The name chameleon mineral is applied to this salt and also to potassium manganate.
 Potassium bitartrate. See Cream of tartar, under Cream.
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 Cha·me·le·on n.  Zool.
 1. A lizardlike reptile of the genus Chamæleo, of several species, found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The skin is covered with fine granulations; it has eyes which can move separately, the tail is prehensile, and the body is much compressed laterally, giving it a high back.  It is remarkable for its ability to change the color of its skin to blend with its surroundings. [Also sometimes spelled chamaeleon.]
 Note: ☞ Its color changes more or less with the color of the objects about it, or with its temper when disturbed. In a cool, dark place it is nearly white, or grayish; on admitting the light, it changes to brown, bottle-green, or blood red, of various shades, and more or less mottled in arrangment. The American chameleons belong to Anolis and allied genera of the family Iguanidæ. They are more slender in form than the true chameleons, but have the same power of changing their colors.
 Chameleon mineral Chem., the compound called potassium permanganate, a dark violet, crystalline substance, KMnO4, which in formation passes through a peculiar succession of color from green to blue, purple, red, etc. See Potassium permanganate, under Potassium.
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