what is acid rain , what is the normal ph level of rain , what turns it from that into acid rain . what ph levels have been recorded for acid rain
Responses (1)
Sulphur dioxide is released during certain processes (in particular from power stations). Sulphur dioxide (SO2) reacts with a hydroxyl ion (OH) then oxygen (O2) to become sulphur trioxide. Add one water molecule to that and you have H2SO4 (sulphuric acid).
Most acid rain is between pH 6 and pH 7 but there are places on the planet with heavy usage of power plants where acid rain of pH 2.5 is experienced.
Sometimes you can detect the sulphuric acid in the air if the acidity is unusually high in your area.
(I only noticed this the other day)
2.5 is really very strong indeed, yeah. I think there's a section of eastern Russia and northern China that suffer it, although that's the pH of the rain itself as opposed to standing water. It's still bad enough to pretty much eradicate fish, though.
The sad thing is that we let things get to the extreme before we even think about dealing with them. It's almost like we're being selfish and say "Let's carry on as long as we can before we have to stop taking what we want".
That kind of thinking isn't compatible with humans continuing to exist.
Yes sadly we always wait till it is almost to late before we take action to put a probleem right .So if there were any lakes with a pH of 2.5 would they be dangerous to swim in?
Huuuuh I wouldn't want to be swimming in water with a ph of 5 let alone 2.5
Absolutely. Like HaiThere says, I wouldn't want to be swimming around in that acid either. Although there are manufactured drinks which are as bad as that. Coca Cola releases drinks with pH values as low as 2.5. For the same reason, I don't go near them.
Well the reason I asked about swimming in a lake with pH2.5 is i remember a scene in dante`s peak film , about people in a lake or in a boat on a lake that had turned acidic , and i wondered what would happen to something like this if it was in the water
see lin at top of page as to what i meant to post in comment
I've seen the film and it's not exactly realistic. You're talking very, very low pH values there. Or high ones. The clearing of biological matter is usually done with very alkaline reagents. I needed to use one once and, I have to admit, I was scared by how quickly certain alkalis could dissolve things. As a human, don't ever go into bat against caustic soda.
Coca cola , realeased a dink with a pH of 2.5 , can`t remember hearing about that . thats pretty strong to be drinking.
Wow thats amazing .
Another reason why I don't drink Coca Cola. Ugh, and to think my sister loves it and drinks it whenever she can. :P
so would acic of pH 2.5 break down disolve the article of clothing shown in the link
at main question area ,
Yes, eventually. In the same way very alkaline things would break down natural fibres. If you want to get the clothes off someone, I think alkali is the way to go. Caustic soda is really scary stuff with respect to anything that has ever been alive (such as wool, cotton, paper, humans).
My mum drinks Coca Cola like there's no tomorrow. I shake my head.
I once did an experiment when I was younger - dissovled some raw chicken in the drink. X_X
Eek! You can dissolve a tooth in a glass of Coke too, if you leave it for about a month. Someone also told me it makes a pretty good toilet cleaner. :D
What does the picture link show just so that i know that you are seeing the correct thing , so you say that Coca Cola will desolve it in time but Caustic sode would do it faster ,were can you get caustic soda ?
Yes, caustic soda is really powerful stuff against anything organic or anything made from organic material (paper, cotton, wool, hair, flesh, bone). I used it to clear a blocked toilet and it dissolved the blockage scarily quickly. I bought mine from a supermarket in the form of crystals which I then made into a solution.
Be VERY careful with this stuff, though. Protective gloves, eyewear and be very gentle when mixing it. I know people always say stuff like that but I really mean it in this case. It's really dangerous and potent stuff. I worked with very strong acids when I was a chemistry student. You can get some explosive reactions out of them but in terms of dissolving things, caustic soda is as good as I've seen.
So if i was to conduct an experiment to see what would disolve what in the picture link best , using Coco Cola and Caustic soda , which would be the best ,What would be the best sort of container to have the caustic soda in, would it be beter to place the item in the link into the solutions or pore the solutions onto the item shown in the link?
I'm not sure what the clothes are made of but if it's a naturally occurring material then caustic soda will dissolve it in seconds if the solution is strong enough. It will literally start to break apart in front of your eyes and you'll be left with the non-organic components and maybe dyes.
To contain your caustic soda solution, anything non-organic. Plastic works particularly well as caustic soda has no action on plastics. Be careful how you dispose of the solution. If you pour it on land, nothing will grow there and anything currently there will die (including insect life below the soil). The soil will also become infertile. It's best to dispose of it down the drains, as long as you're not getting rid of too much of it or doing this too often.
I think the item of clothes show are made of a mixture of lycra ,spandex nylon , not sure thou.
Ahh, all of those are man-made fibres and I don't think caustic soda will do anything to them. For that, you're back to acids. Man-made fibres are pretty susceptible to acid and you'll get the same kind of dissolving effect. You'll want a pretty strong acid for an immediate effect.
So what strenght of acid would be needed to deal with what is in the picture link?
It's impossible to be sure without knowing exactly what they're made of. You might want to do a few experiments and see what the strongest acid available to you is.
What would happen to denim shorts exposed to a solution of caustic soda , i have heard that it can be used to clean clothes ,clear drains ,kill moss on paths and patios .
In a strong enough solution, it should dissolve the shorts. In weaker solutions, it is actually used in the textile industry because partially destroying things like cotton make them softer or easier to dye.
Wow pH 2.5 is pretty strong . has there ever been lakes found with an acidic level of pH 2.5 .