Decrepitation

(-krip-e-tūshūn.) [L. decrepo-do, from, and cre po, to crackle.] (Chem.) A crackling noise made when certain salts, chloride of sodium for instance, are suddenly exposed to heat. It is generally caused by the expansion and volatilization of the water mechanically held within them; but it is sometimes due to the different expansion of the crystalline layers. [s. 270]