cellulose nitrate

n. a flexible plastic made from cellulose, usually wood pulp or cotton, mixed with nitric and sulfuric acids

Notes

Also known as nitrate and nitrocellulose, cellulose nitrate was commonly used as the base in photographic and motion picture film from the late-nineteenth century through the early-twentieth century. It is chemically unstable and highly flammable. In advance stages of deterioration it can combust spontaneously.