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I wonder if anyone reclaimed the gold that @DCFusor claimed to have dissolved into solution(s) and stored in drums around his property after he passed away.
Bottom Feeder
Big Eyed Bug
Whoa — the ending was the best.
Do they say what was used to dissolve it?
My guess would be aqua regia.
Do they say what was used to dissolve it?
My guess would be aqua regia.
HCl first, then they added HNO₃. I don't recall if they mentioned the concentration levels or not.
That was NileDORK aka NileRed. He's a canadian nerd that loves chemistry. BTW, not sure if you noticed but he swapped out the dissolved gold solution for a solution that was simply colored similar to disolved gold.
Bottom Feeder
Big Eyed Bug
A little history for those interested.
During World War II, the medals of German scientists (one a Jew, the other a Jewish sympathizer), Max von Laue and James Franck were sent to Copenhagen for safekeeping. When Germany invaded Denmark, Hungarian chemist (and Nobel laureate himself) George de Hevesy dissolved them in aqua regia, to prevent confiscation by Nazi Germany and to prevent legal problems (legal problems — hah, a death sentence) for the holders.
Like all precious metals, gold is pretty inert. But even gold won't stand up to aqua regia—a 3-to-1 mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid.
The two acids work together like a super-destructive tag team. The nitric acid gets in first, ripping electrons off a few gold atoms at the surface, turning them into charged gold ions. Then it's the hydrochloric acid's turn. Chloride ions—the Cl in HCl—react with the charged gold ions, dissolving them.
Once all the gold ions have been mopped up this way, the nitric acid gets back in there and makes some more ions. Repeat indefinitely, and you can—very slowly—dissolve gold.
After the war, the gold was recovered from solution, and the medals re-cast.
BF
During World War II, the medals of German scientists (one a Jew, the other a Jewish sympathizer), Max von Laue and James Franck were sent to Copenhagen for safekeeping. When Germany invaded Denmark, Hungarian chemist (and Nobel laureate himself) George de Hevesy dissolved them in aqua regia, to prevent confiscation by Nazi Germany and to prevent legal problems (legal problems — hah, a death sentence) for the holders.
Like all precious metals, gold is pretty inert. But even gold won't stand up to aqua regia—a 3-to-1 mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid.
The two acids work together like a super-destructive tag team. The nitric acid gets in first, ripping electrons off a few gold atoms at the surface, turning them into charged gold ions. Then it's the hydrochloric acid's turn. Chloride ions—the Cl in HCl—react with the charged gold ions, dissolving them.
Once all the gold ions have been mopped up this way, the nitric acid gets back in there and makes some more ions. Repeat indefinitely, and you can—very slowly—dissolve gold.
After the war, the gold was recovered from solution, and the medals re-cast.
BF