Matthew1
- DIY
Metal's Hidden Treasure
The phrase “passing the acid test” gained popularity in the gold-rush years of the 1850s when miners used strong acids to determine whether the metal they had found was real gold or not. If it bubbled and frothed on contact with acid, it wasn’t gold. But even these failures produced something interesting and beautiful. When pure metals cool, they solidify into intricately interlocked crystals. You can’t see the crystals because they fit together perfectly to form what appears to be a uniform mass with a smooth, solid surface. But acid can reveal the structure inside.
10.5.2008 at 01:07pm - Comment by Matthew1My kids and I have tried this with aluminum and iron, with no results. We've tried dipping the metals in the acid for a second, and we've tried immersing them for 2 hours and more (checking every 1/2 hour or so). How long does this process take? Thanks.
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