• Question: how does acid burn through material

    Asked by cheesybillybob to Antonia, Douglas, Hugh, Matt, Tom on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Matthew Hurley

      Matthew Hurley answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Some acids (like hydrofluoric acid) are very corrosive and can dissolve metal. They do this by reacting with the metal forming a salt. Eventually there is no original metal left. Also really damages your hands!

    • Photo: Hugh Roderick

      Hugh Roderick answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      I don’t know

    • Photo: Tom Hardy

      Tom Hardy answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Acid can burn the skin, but it doesn’t actually burn through things like you think it does. What you are actually seeing when acid is spilt on a surface is a chemical reaction. An acid is any compound that during a reaction donates a hydrogen ion (H+) to another compound. Stronger acids want to give away hydrogen ions more than weaker ones. So when you think of an acid burning material you need to think about the acid reacting with the material to create a new product, this could be a gas or water. By reacting like this the material changes, giving the impression the acid is burning through the material.

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