Definition of "pyroxylin" [py•rox•y•lin]

• A highly flammable nitrocellulose used in the manufacture of collodion, plastics, and lacquers. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Creative and innovative, always interested in new techniques and materials, Siqueiros frequently used pyroxylin, a substance related to gun-cotton, which dries with amazing speed."
• "With a barely audible fumpf, one hundred grams of pyroxylin thermite ignited, propelling the case-hardened penetrator tip into the thick metal panel, instantly vaporizing the lock, bolt, and latch with a jet of 2,800-degree molten tungsten."
• "These nitrates are variously known as nitrocellulose, pyroxylin, and gun cotton."