Metal oxidizer

FlightSimBoy

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Weird question, especially on a computer forum.

Anyone know the best way to oxidize, or even dissolve, all metals except for gold?
 
I never thought of that one...

Problem is getting ahold of some. The problem after that is not killing myself by using it.
 
I never thought of that one...

Problem is getting ahold of some. The problem after that is not killing myself by using it.

You can get a hold of some from "select" private sources. Many high school science teachers have the stuff.

If you can get your hands on it, try a combination of sulfuric and nitric acids. Although this is only substance known to man than dissolve gold and make the process irreversible. It is also the most deadly acid combination known to man.

And you aren't trying to isolate gold from gold bearing sands by chance are you?
 
Nah, I got these old coin things that I know for a fact contain some gold. These things are thousands of years old supposedly, but they are worn down flat so there is no value coin wise. Its just that there is more bronze / copper than gold.

I could try melting them down and refining them myself, but the nozzle on my blowtorch leaks...
 
Naw, it's not worth it to try and refine it. I don't know what's the "best" method, but if you can crush it to a VERY fine power (100 mesh or smaller), you melt inside of a borax coated potato with a lump of mercury and and the potato will absorb the poisonous fumes from the mercury. I think that's the way you will find the most successful, but keep in mine it's very dangerous.
 
Yeah, I don't think I will mess around with the mercury part.

Though I did take a look at my blowtorch and I was able to fix the leaky valve. Glowing red hot metal is fun to look at! I did confirm that some of the metal was indeed gold, I just wasn't able to extract it. I'm guessing that's where crushing it up and adding the mercury comes in.
 
Yeah, I don't think I will mess around with the mercury part.

Though I did take a look at my blowtorch and I was able to fix the leaky valve. Glowing red hot metal is fun to look at! I did confirm that some of the metal was indeed gold, I just wasn't able to extract it. I'm guessing that's where crushing it up and adding the mercury comes in.

Yeah, it not a very smart thing to do. Although I have done it several times. Go Figure. Lol. And yeah, red hot metal is always very fun to see. In our old fireplace, I was able to get the grate red hot fairly easily actually. It even bent with the weight of the logs on top of it.

And you're also right about that's where the mercury comes in.
 
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