More than 400 years after the invention of “fulminating gold” explosives, scientists finally have an answer for why these compounds produce their iconic purple smoke.

Purple smoke from a waste energy plant filled the skies in Portland, Maine, baffling and angering residents. CBS 13 News “While vaporized iodine can pose health risks if directly inhaled, it is ...

Experiments on a highly explosive substance called fulminating gold reveal why its detonation produces unusual purple smoke 1. More than 400 years ago, alchemists discovered fulminating gold, a ...

Researchers speculated that the distinctive smoke might be a result of gold nanoparticles that are spat out into the smoke. Circumstantial evidence would back this theory; the 17 th century ...