Interesting Facts about Ammonium Nitrate

Ammonium nitrate was said to be developed Germans which they used as fertilizers instead of Chilean Nitrates since it is a lot cheaper. Commercially, it is prepared by mixing nitric acid and ammonia salt. The reaction from the two substances combined will form Ammonium Nitrate. The kind of ammonium nitrate sold in the market contains an average of 33.5 percent of nitrogen. This compound is very soluble in water; and if the water which ammonium nitrate was dissolved at is heated, the by- product will be nitrous oxide which is commonly referred to as laughing gas.

Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula NH4NO3. It is composed of nitric acid and salt of ammonia. In room temperature, ammonium nitrate appears in a white crystalline form and it is also colorless. Its melting point is at 169.6 degrees Celsius or 337.3 degrees Fahrenheit. These crystals are rhombohedral in shape but when they are subjected to temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius, they change to monoclinic crystals.