Vitriol

Vitriol is the name that alchemists gave to sulfuric acid. The name was also used for various sulfate salts, such as copper(II) sulfate (blue vitriol, or rarely Roman vitriol), zinc sulfate (white vitriol), iron(II) sulfate (green vitriol), iron(III) sulfate (vitriol of Mars), or cobalt(II) sulfate (red vitriol).

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Oil of vitriol is concentrated sulfuric acid so named due to its oily appearance.

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In antiquity, the vitriol salts were extracted from the runoff that collected inside mines of sulfide ores; the sulfates were formed naturally by the action of air on the wet sulfide minerals, and washed down by percolating water.

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Alchemists: REDIRECT Alchemy...

Sulfate: Sulfate is the IUPAC name for the SO42- ion, consisting of a central sulfur atom single bonded to four tetrahedrally oriented oxygen atoms. This anion has a net negative two electric charge....

Salt: : This article is about the general chemical term salt. For the everyday meaning, see edible salt or its main ingredient, sodium chloride. For other meanings of the word salt, see salt (disambiguation)....