Mustard gas
Query URLs
https://term.museum-digital.de/md-de/tag/58002
- Note
- Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is any of several chemical compounds that contain the chemical structure SCH2CH2Cl. In the wider sense, compounds with the substituent SCH2CH2X and NCH2CH2X are known as sulfur mustards and nitrogen mustards (X = Cl, Br), respectively. Such compounds are potent alkylating agents, which can interfere with several biological processes. Also known as mustard agents, this family of compounds are infamous cytotoxic and blister agents with a long history of use as chemical weapons. The name mustard gas is technically incorrect: the substances, when dispersed, are often not gases but a fine mist of liquid droplets. Sulfur mustards are viscous liquids at room temperature and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic, or horseradish, hence the name. When pure, they are colorless, but when used in impure forms, such as in warfare, they are usually yellow-brown. Mustard gases form blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs, often resulting in prolonged illness ending in death. The typical mustard gas is the organosulfur compound called bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide.
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