calx
/kalks
/noun (plural calces /ˈkalsiːz/) Chemistry, archaic
A powdery metallic oxide formed when an ore or mineral has been heated.Then a French pharmacist named Pierre Bayen pointed out to Lavoisier that calx of mercury, which we would now call mercuric oxide, can be converted to mercury simply by heating....
- Other common names by which the compound is known include burnt lime, unslaked lime, fluxing lime, and calx.
- The reason a metal formed when its calx was heated with charcoal was therefore because the phlogiston left the charcoal and united with the calx.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin, 'lime', probably from Greek khalix 'pebble, limestone'.