• Question: What's the most reactive accide in the world?

    Asked by emochicinlove to Chris, Eva, Michael, Paddy, Philip on 14 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Chris Jordan

      Chris Jordan answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      One for the chemists here – Again – hydrofluoric acid is not at all nice – But I think there’s a mixture of acids that’s also very bad.

    • Photo: Michael Wharmby

      Michael Wharmby answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Yes Chris, hydrofluoric acid is pretty nasty – it goes through your skin and eats your bones, but worse than that it attacks your nerves too. It kills (not just burns) by destroying the nerves causing great pain as it goes.
      The nasty mixtures are aqua regia (hydrochloric acid and nitric acid – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia) and Caro’s acid, also known as piranha solution (sulphuric acid and hyrogen peroxide – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piranha_solution). Aqua regia is the only acid which will dissolve unreactive metals like gold, whilst piranha solution destroys organic things made of carbon (for example sugar, skin etc.)

    • Photo: Philip Denniff

      Philip Denniff answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I will add chromic acid and permanganic acid are both perticularly nasty, they combine the acidic properties of sulphuric acid with a strong oxidising agents. They are very good for cleaning grease and other organic residues off metals and other surfaces. If you get it on your skin the oxidising agent breaks the skin down then the sulphuric acid goes to work.

    • Photo: Paddy Brock

      Paddy Brock answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I can only add a little to this from a biologist’s perspective, with the factoid that some of the strongest acids naturally occurring in animals are in vultures’ stomachs. They have evolved highly acid stomach juices to help break up their food and kill the many bacteria that are found on the rotting material they eat. (http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-09/968529176.Bc.r.html)

    • Photo: Eva Bachmair

      Eva Bachmair answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Not really my topic and I had to ask the www, came up with an acid I never heard about before: fluoroantimonic acid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoroantimonic_acid). I wouldn’t like to work with it.

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