4 ms·

Good 'ole HF http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2004/03/03/things_i_wont_touch_1 http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2004/03/03/thi...

donpdonp 8y ago
TL;DR "hydrofluoric acid is a water solution of hydrogen fluoride, HF. That’s a gas, and it’s a lot worse. ... As soon as it hits anything moist – like your lungs – it dissolves in the water and turns into hydrofluoric acid again."
- lifeisstillgood 8y ago
  or "The straight liquid must really be a treat, but I’ve never seen it in that form, and would only wish to through binoculars."
  - AstralStorm 8y ago
    The fact that it is liquid at relatively balmy temperatures makes it a bit easier to handle than most gases, but then you better have great urethane seals, gloves and clothing everywhere. (Silicones are permeable, PTFE is damaged over time, nitrile and vinyl gloves also leak.)
    - jakeogh 8y ago
      8mil nitrile x2 with no extended(!) contact option. Like silane: http://amo-csd.lbl.gov/downloads/Chemical%20Resistance%20of%20Gloves.pdf http://amo-csd.lbl.gov/downloads/Chemical%20Resistance%20of%...
msla 8y ago
Oh, yeah. I knew someone would get around to linking to Derek Lowe and his inimitable "Things I Won't Work With" series. His best-known entry in that series, about chlorine triflouride, also has mention of HF and semiconductors: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/san... > The compound also a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen itself, which also puts it into rare territory. That means that it can potentially go on to “burn” things that you would normally consider already burnt to hell and gone, and a practical consequence of that is that it’ll start roaring reactions with things like bricks and asbestos tile. It’s been used in the semiconductor industry to clean oxides off of surfaces, at which activity it no doubt excels. > There’s a report from the early 1950s (in this PDF) of a one-ton spill of the stuff. It burned its way through a foot of concrete floor and chewed up another meter of sand and gravel beneath, completing a day that I’m sure no one involved ever forgot. That process, I should add, would necessarily have been accompanied by copious amounts of horribly toxic and corrosive by-products: it’s bad enough when your reagent ignites wet sand, but the clouds of hot hydrofluoric acid are your special door prize if you’re foolhardy enough to hang around and watch the fireworks Here's a video of some French people introducing the substance to things like a rubber glove and leather: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_some_empirical_findings http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2013/04/05/chl... TL;DW: FIRE!

donpdonp 8y ago

TL;DR "hydrofluoric acid is a water solution of hydrogen fluoride, HF. That’s a gas, and it’s a lot worse. ... As soon as it hits anything moist – like your lungs – it dissolves in the water and turns into hydrofluoric acid again."

lifeisstillgood 8y ago
or "The straight liquid must really be a treat, but I’ve never seen it in that form, and would only wish to through binoculars."
- AstralStorm 8y ago
  The fact that it is liquid at relatively balmy temperatures makes it a bit easier to handle than most gases, but then you better have great urethane seals, gloves and clothing everywhere. (Silicones are permeable, PTFE is damaged over time, nitrile and vinyl gloves also leak.)
  - jakeogh 8y ago
    8mil nitrile x2 with no extended(!) contact option. Like silane: http://amo-csd.lbl.gov/downloads/Chemical%20Resistance%20of%20Gloves.pdf http://amo-csd.lbl.gov/downloads/Chemical%20Resistance%20of%...

msla 8y ago

Oh, yeah. I knew someone would get around to linking to Derek Lowe and his inimitable "Things I Won't Work With" series. His best-known entry in that series, about chlorine triflouride, also has mention of HF and semiconductors: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/san... > The compound also a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen itself, which also puts it into rare territory. That means that it can potentially go on to “burn” things that you would normally consider already burnt to hell and gone, and a practical consequence of that is that it’ll start roaring reactions with things like bricks and asbestos tile. It’s been used in the semiconductor industry to clean oxides off of surfaces, at which activity it no doubt excels. > There’s a report from the early 1950s (in this PDF) of a one-ton spill of the stuff. It burned its way through a foot of concrete floor and chewed up another meter of sand and gravel beneath, completing a day that I’m sure no one involved ever forgot. That process, I should add, would necessarily have been accompanied by copious amounts of horribly toxic and corrosive by-products: it’s bad enough when your reagent ignites wet sand, but the clouds of hot hydrofluoric acid are your special door prize if you’re foolhardy enough to hang around and watch the fireworks Here's a video of some French people introducing the substance to things like a rubber glove and leather: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_some_empirical_findings http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2013/04/05/chl... TL;DW: FIRE!