A chemical compound of silver combined with nitric acid, historically used in medicine, photography, and as a caustic agent.
From Latin 'argentum' (silver) + 'nitrate' (a salt of nitric acid). Widely used since the medieval period, often called 'lunar caustic' or 'hell stone' in older texts.
Silver nitrate is essentially a liquid mirror—it was used to create the first photographs because it reacts to light the way eye retinas do, connecting chemistry with vision itself.
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