Significance

Potassium Nitrate is almost always used in gunpowder but can be found in other explosives as well. It has a wealth of history which adds not only to its historical significance, but also to its wide variety of uses. Gunpowder has proven pivotal to history and has completely changed our perception and creation of weapons. It is most often found in its impure form, saltpetre, on the surface of rocks and in caves in warm climates in countries such as Egypt, Spain, and Iran, appearing as a white powder (a name it had garnered historically). Nitrates commonly form when decaying plants and some other materials (including excrement) react with moisture and alkaline soil. The nitrates dissolve when it rains and potassium nitrate is left behind when the rainwater evaporates.