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Anhydrous redistilled hydrogen fluoride? No thanks! Mind you: this is the stuff that, on skin contact, doesn't just burn you. It will immediately move through

Anhydrous redistilled hydrogen fluoride? No thanks! Mind you: this is the stuff that, on skin contact, doesn't just burn you. It will immediately move through your skin to fuck up your nervous system, your organs, and your electrolyte balance to give you a heart attack. If this synthesis were to kill me somehow, I'd rather blow myself up than get sprayed with HF. Refer to [1] for more, unless you're easily disgusted... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrofluoric_acid_burn https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrofluoric_acid_burn

thaumasiotes 2y ago
It's the first thing in the series: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-touch-1 https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-tou... > HF has actually been used right out of the cylinder for a long time in Merrifield peptide synthesizers. It's the traditional way to cleave the peptide off the resin at the final step, so there are actually a lot of people who've used the stuff. But it's in a dedicated apparatus that is (that had better be) well sealed, and people treat it with due respect. At a former employer of mine, there was an accident with one of these machines right before I joined the company. The shout "HF LEAK!" went out into the halls, and I'm told that the whole area set a never-to-be-equaled evacuation record.
qiqitori 2y ago
Last night I somehow dreamed I had a hydrofluoric acid burn. Reading this thread I remembered there was this rust stain remover product on US Amazon that is 3% HF. https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B000LNQNM0/ https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B000LNQNM0/ It's got great reviews (and I'm inclined to believe that this product will do the job). There's one 1-star review that stands out though: "Simply put. It doesn’t work and it was shipped leaking." Yikes!
- isoprophlex 2y ago
  Who knows what was left of that 3% HF after it was shipped leaking... Maybe it was just mildly spicy water when delivered, and the poor amazon warehouse workers got to have most of the fun.
  - throwaway173738 2y ago
    I’m sure they have all the equipment on hand to provide proper first aid for the vast multitude of chemicals they stock. They would never sell anything unsafe, right?
- NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
  I thought surely you must be joking when I clicked on the link. Then I thought, ok, I'm a high school flunky, and I must be confusing this with the "don't go within a million miles of" substance that Walter White used to dissolve corpses and the one that I've read about repeatedly over the years that is immediately poisonous to human life even if you spill it only on a fingertip. But nope the 1-star reviews make it clear that I'm not confused. Then I start wondering how this can even be shipped with regular parcel services... I finished up by thinking "he linked to the reviews, because the product is no longer for sale". So I click through the link, nope. $11/bottle. And not soem Engrishy label, looks like I could find it on the shelf at Home Depot or Walmart. Seriously, wtf.
  - al2o3cr 2y ago
    Concentration is the deciding factor - for instance, some folks use 3% hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant mouthwash. Trying that with 95% hydrogen peroxide would work exactly ONCE, and "disinfect" the user entirely from reality.
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
      What concentration of hydrofluoric acid is safe as mouthwash?
      - wizzwizz4 2y ago
        Nobody's saying it won't kill you, just that it'll leave a corpse.
  - mminer237 2y ago
    > Walter White used to dissolve corpses HF won't actually dissolve a corpse. It's not actually that strong of an acid; just fluoride is nasty stuff.
    - FreeFull 2y ago
      On the other hand, HF is great at dissolving glass (silicon dioxide), which is something that most other acids won't do.
- tehjoker 2y ago
  The feeling of danger browsing that page trying to avoid accidentally clicking the "Buy" button.
notherhack 2y ago
"Improved" fire suppression systems contain hydrofluorocarbon gases which when burned decompose into HF gas. What could possibly go wrong? Do NOT stay in the server room (or armored personnel carrier) when the fire suppression system goes off. https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/177/1/108/4345530 https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/177/1/108/4345530
- thfuran 2y ago
  That doesn't sound like an improvement.
  - KineticLensman 2y ago
    Some fire suppression systems are not intended to save the lives of the people in the place where the fire is. E.g. in the ammunition store on a warship. They are intended to stop the fire before it triggers something much worse (like an explosion)
fdr 2y ago
My dad had some interesting-acid stories, when he was a young chemist. They both involve cleaning glassware. The era is around 1970. One was something he said resembled a wok full of the usual suspects of strong acids. Overnight, the mixture was hygroscopic, so they'd start it heating up in the morning to dehydrate it and increase the concentration. To test if it was ready, they'd throw in a small piece of wood, about the size of a match. If it disintegrated on contact, it was ready. Then you could dip your glassware to clean it. But, in another lab, they would use a small bottle of hydrofluoric acid at the bench, taking a layer off the glass at the same time. While the dangers of large exposures were well known, he did mention the nerve damage and it being highly annoying and painful if trace amounts got under your fingernails, a somewhat common injury of the lab that everyone simply tolerated. He thought the latter was a more convenient arrangement.
tonetegeatinst 2y ago
I'm a student in college studying cybersecurity but I have an interest in computer engineering. I also have an interest in energetics. Florine is one of those chemicals you just got to respect. I know HF is used in the photoresist etch, and I'm interested in doing my own chip design. I realized that if I ever spilled HF on my, and the calcium cream didn't work, I'm better of just dying to anything other than HF. Iv heard its horrific to get on you in concentrated doses. The price we pay for the small feature sizes on the wafer, and the increased density, in paid for in the usage of harsh chemicals.

thaumasiotes 2y ago

It's the first thing in the series: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-touch-1 https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-tou... > HF has actually been used right out of the cylinder for a long time in Merrifield peptide synthesizers. It's the traditional way to cleave the peptide off the resin at the final step, so there are actually a lot of people who've used the stuff. But it's in a dedicated apparatus that is (that had better be) well sealed, and people treat it with due respect. At a former employer of mine, there was an accident with one of these machines right before I joined the company. The shout "HF LEAK!" went out into the halls, and I'm told that the whole area set a never-to-be-equaled evacuation record.

qiqitori 2y ago

Last night I somehow dreamed I had a hydrofluoric acid burn. Reading this thread I remembered there was this rust stain remover product on US Amazon that is 3% HF. https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B000LNQNM0/ https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B000LNQNM0/ It's got great reviews (and I'm inclined to believe that this product will do the job). There's one 1-star review that stands out though: "Simply put. It doesn’t work and it was shipped leaking." Yikes!

isoprophlex 2y ago
Who knows what was left of that 3% HF after it was shipped leaking... Maybe it was just mildly spicy water when delivered, and the poor amazon warehouse workers got to have most of the fun.
- throwaway173738 2y ago
  I’m sure they have all the equipment on hand to provide proper first aid for the vast multitude of chemicals they stock. They would never sell anything unsafe, right?
NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
I thought surely you must be joking when I clicked on the link. Then I thought, ok, I'm a high school flunky, and I must be confusing this with the "don't go within a million miles of" substance that Walter White used to dissolve corpses and the one that I've read about repeatedly over the years that is immediately poisonous to human life even if you spill it only on a fingertip. But nope the 1-star reviews make it clear that I'm not confused. Then I start wondering how this can even be shipped with regular parcel services... I finished up by thinking "he linked to the reviews, because the product is no longer for sale". So I click through the link, nope. $11/bottle. And not soem Engrishy label, looks like I could find it on the shelf at Home Depot or Walmart. Seriously, wtf.
- al2o3cr 2y ago
  Concentration is the deciding factor - for instance, some folks use 3% hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant mouthwash. Trying that with 95% hydrogen peroxide would work exactly ONCE, and "disinfect" the user entirely from reality.
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
    What concentration of hydrofluoric acid is safe as mouthwash?
    - wizzwizz4 2y ago
      Nobody's saying it won't kill you, just that it'll leave a corpse.
- mminer237 2y ago
  > Walter White used to dissolve corpses HF won't actually dissolve a corpse. It's not actually that strong of an acid; just fluoride is nasty stuff.
  - FreeFull 2y ago
    On the other hand, HF is great at dissolving glass (silicon dioxide), which is something that most other acids won't do.
tehjoker 2y ago
The feeling of danger browsing that page trying to avoid accidentally clicking the "Buy" button.

notherhack 2y ago

"Improved" fire suppression systems contain hydrofluorocarbon gases which when burned decompose into HF gas. What could possibly go wrong? Do NOT stay in the server room (or armored personnel carrier) when the fire suppression system goes off. https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/177/1/108/4345530 https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/177/1/108/4345530

thfuran 2y ago
That doesn't sound like an improvement.
- KineticLensman 2y ago
  Some fire suppression systems are not intended to save the lives of the people in the place where the fire is. E.g. in the ammunition store on a warship. They are intended to stop the fire before it triggers something much worse (like an explosion)

fdr 2y ago

My dad had some interesting-acid stories, when he was a young chemist. They both involve cleaning glassware. The era is around 1970. One was something he said resembled a wok full of the usual suspects of strong acids. Overnight, the mixture was hygroscopic, so they'd start it heating up in the morning to dehydrate it and increase the concentration. To test if it was ready, they'd throw in a small piece of wood, about the size of a match. If it disintegrated on contact, it was ready. Then you could dip your glassware to clean it. But, in another lab, they would use a small bottle of hydrofluoric acid at the bench, taking a layer off the glass at the same time. While the dangers of large exposures were well known, he did mention the nerve damage and it being highly annoying and painful if trace amounts got under your fingernails, a somewhat common injury of the lab that everyone simply tolerated. He thought the latter was a more convenient arrangement.

tonetegeatinst 2y ago

I'm a student in college studying cybersecurity but I have an interest in computer engineering. I also have an interest in energetics. Florine is one of those chemicals you just got to respect. I know HF is used in the photoresist etch, and I'm interested in doing my own chip design. I realized that if I ever spilled HF on my, and the calcium cream didn't work, I'm better of just dying to anything other than HF. Iv heard its horrific to get on you in concentrated doses. The price we pay for the small feature sizes on the wafer, and the increased density, in paid for in the usage of harsh chemicals.