Mercury(II) fulminate

Mercury(II) fulminate, Hg(CNO)₂, is a highly sensitive primary explosive that initiates stronger explosives when struck or heated. It was widely used in percussion caps and detonators before safer alternatives became common.

Primary explosive: An explosive that detonates readily from heat, shock, or friction and can initiate less-sensitive explosives. Mercury fulminate is a classic example, used to start detonation in a larger charge.
Edward Charles Howard: An English chemist who investigated fulminating compounds and reported mercury fulminate in 1800. Howard's experiments established the compound's explosive properties.
Detonator: A device that initiates detonation in a larger explosive charge. Mercury fulminate was used as the sensitive initiating charge in early detonators.
Silver fulminate: A highly sensitive explosive salt of silver and fulminic acid. It shares fulminate chemistry but is even more sensitive and unsuitable for many practical uses.
Detonation: A supersonic reaction front in an explosive, sustained by the pressure of its own shock wave. A detonator uses mercury fulminate to create the shock that starts this reaction in a main charge.
Fulminic acid: An unstable acid, HCNO, whose salts include mercury fulminate and silver fulminate. Mercury fulminate is a salt derived from this acid.
Blasting cap: A small, powerful initiating device used to detonate commercial explosives. Early blasting caps often relied on mercury fulminate to initiate their main charge.
Mercury fulminate poisoning: Toxic effects caused by exposure to mercury fulminate or its mercury-containing residues. Toxicity added a serious occupational hazard to the compound's explosive sensitivity.
Shock sensitivity: The tendency of a material to react explosively when subjected to mechanical shock. Its extreme sensitivity to impact made mercury fulminate useful in percussion devices and hazardous to handle.
Percussion ignition: A method of firing a weapon by striking an impact-sensitive primer to ignite its propellant. Mercury fulminate helped make percussion ignition practical in firearms.

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