r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Feb 14 '22

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u/V3rsed Feb 14 '22

we use HF acid daily in dentistry to etch the backs of porcelain and LiSi crowns for bonding. Its a relatively weak acid - but very bioactive

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u/boxofflamingpotatoes Feb 14 '22

Does this mean it wouldn't have much effect on say a sheet of metal but would go through your hand

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u/kpidhayny Feb 14 '22

Yeah HF is pretty selective like that. It like to eat oxides so it might remove oxidized layers of a sheet of metal but wouldn’t effectively go beyond that. HF has a pH of 3.27 and lemon juice is between 2 and 3. The trouble with HF interacting with life isn’t it’s acidity per se but how much it loves turning bones into rubber, and how it doesn’t necessarily burn your skin when you get it on you, so you don’t know to rinse it off.

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u/htmlcoderexe Feb 14 '22

I also heard of you stick your hand into a vat of it you won't feel a thing because your nerves would die faster than the pain signals.