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Zinc sulfate
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<p>Zinc sulfate is an <a href="/facts/Inorganic_compound/TfFfzxSz">inorganic compound</a> with the formula ZnSO4. It forms <a href="/facts/Hydrate/dev82l69">hydrates</a> ZnSO4·<i>n</i>H2O, where <i>n</i> can range from 0 to 7. All are colorless solids. The most common form includes <a href="/facts/Water_of_crystallization/sbaKJNJX">water of crystallization</a> as the heptahydrate, with the <a href="/facts/Chemical_formula/hghUtthl">formula</a> <a href="/facts/Zinc/80b1qgk3">Zn</a><a href="/facts/Sulfate/yuWVxsUf">SO4·7H2O</a>. As early as the 16th century it was prepared on a large scale, and was historically known as "white <a href="/facts/Vitriol/8uJSoopA">vitriol</a>" (the name was used, for example, in 1620s by the collective writing under the pseudonym of <a href="/facts/Basil_Valentine/6BVlJQNj">Basil Valentine</a>). Zinc sulfate and its hydrates are colourless solids. </p>