Smelling salts, also known as spirit of hartshorn or sal volatile, are chemical compounds used for arousing consciousness. The usual active compound is ammonium carbonate, a colorless-to-white, crystalline solid ((NH4)2CO3·H2O). Because most modern solutions are mixed with water, they should more properly be called "aromatic spirits of ammonia." Modern solutions may also contain other products to perfume or act in conjunction with the ammonia, such as eucalyptus oil.
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Famous quotes containing the word smelling:
“Through the certain prospect of death, a precious, sweet- smelling drop of levity might be mixed into every life—but now you strange pharmacist-souls have turned it into a foul-tasting drop of poison through which all life is made repulsive.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)