Aqua Regia dissolves Gold - Periodic Table of Videos

[Thetarget1]

Cleaning your beakers with aqua regia? Kind of like cleaning your room with a hydrogen bomb.

[ItsThatDank420]

Hahahaha From Being Serious Looking For Cool Videos I Started LMAO at 0:17 !!

[Andy205ro]

How about cyanide... dis can dissolve cold? ...and, some people have insatiable appetite for gold....

[Bakersak]

he makes chemistry look so easy.

lol

[ICEMANFALCORE]

"Really Bang the Dirt!" :D

[6thHorseMan]

that guy's hair is king of the animals

[mikebrisebois]

I would take him more seriously if he had a pick in his hair.

[DevilMaster]

"Damn, this beaker is so dirty even aqua regia can't clean it up! Let's try fluoroantimonic acid!"

Some time later...

"Hey, where'd that beaker go?"

[6thHorseMan]

@DevilMaster

probably took a trip with those naked protons...

[aureusyarara]

how do you get the gold back?

[ricochetVendetta]

@aureusyarara evaporate it or some other way of breaking down the compound I guess

[aureusyarara]

@ricochetVendetta

Haha, that would get rid of the H2O, sure, but I'd be left with salts of gold.

Reduce it, maybe? I dunno if gold would reduce instead of the other compounds. Maybe there's a specific process?

[jvcrules]

@aureusyarara yup, you would heat the salts to liberate them of HCl, then reduce with H2O2 to get gold

[aureusyarara]

@jvcrules yay, thanks! I completely forgot about heating to get rid of HCl!!

[elflordbob1]

can't find the soap

TRY AQUA REGIA

[AlphaKiloFive]

Your desktop is pretty cluttered.

[MrThatmeanguy1995]

why the fuck would you want to dissolve gold. If you have too much gold to spare, you can always give some to me :)

[fritspas]

@MrThatmeanguy1995

Are you the bloke from cash4gold?

[Cloud98]

@MrThatmeanguy1995 Well, in the last part he talked about how they were able to recover the gold back from it, so its not totally lost.

[QuicksilverdotFX]

@MrThatmeanguy1995 Nothing can be destroyed. Learn the laws of physics before you speak of such caliber. Dissolving is not akin to destroying, ignoramus.

[thebeyblademaniac]

Look at the background when the scientist is talking. Gawd, his computer desktop is MESSY!

[alancheira]

It would be nice to talk about the reverse process, like prof. said, to recover the gold.

[VictorVonFox]

i'd like to see a video of them talking about Glass....i mean it can hold Aqua Regia without melting lol

[rattslayer]

12 people dont like acid

[MisterDoctorUsagiPHD]

that last story is badass.

[rollingcube]

When I was in high school I was allowed to set up the lads, and in the morning I had access to a large room of chemicals, probably from the 1950's, all sorts of things including dyes and stuff. Sir, I supposed turned a blind eye. At home I had a room which was a 'lab' and all my meager pocket money mostly was spent on beakers, bungs, glass tubing, a nice bunsen burner et al, clamps and flasks. I admit my itinerant mischiefiness most probably saw fit stall my practical applications. haha haha...

[rollingcube]

i always found it hard to obtain these chemicals

[optikalefxx]

This is what you want your scientist to look like

[coppersunshine]

That tale at the end is one of the coolest stories in chemistry I've heard. :)

[Aquapello1967]

I wonder what would happen if you added an Alkaline Base to the solution. I guess it would neutralize the acid and reconstitute the gold.

[sean918]

@Aquapello1967 Neutralizing the acid wouldn't do anything to the gold, kind of like how combining HCl and NaOH doesn't release Cl2 gas. This would just make a salt solution. To get the gold out, you would simply put in a more reactive metal in its natural state, like a piece of copper wire.

[Aquapello1967]

@sean918 Wow, very interesting. Thank you for the information. Chemistry is such an amazing field of study.

[2501anon]

Hey, doc. What about time machine?

[IAmAnAWESOMESamsung]

@2501anon Well ship me a Delorian and I might make that happen. :]

[MrOfurdadi]

Bang the dirt? xD

[MrBigEnchilada]

this is like the reverse reaction for turning gold into solid. Now you have it in liquid without having to heat it to like 2000 degrees F.

[derrynator]

one of my teachers keeps a beaker of this on his desk in which he puts confiscated cell phones.

[Arnkellj]

Aqua regia bangin' the dirt

[nuzod]

WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANNA DISSOLVE MONEY :? LOLOL

[AsylumET]

@nuzod To purify it.

[thereaper10001]

The icon on the right screen is forever alone!

[5random1]

@thereaper10001

Adds to the the scientific "hair effect" of the originator.

Note the configuration of icons on the screen to the left.

I bet he knows what and where each icon/file is...when he needs it.

[thebeyblademaniac]

@thereaper10001 I don't get what you said ._.

[poofnsauce]

@thereaper10001 If you look close enough it's named "Forever_Alone"

[drewsisely]

iridium! Haha! Suck that Aqua Regia!

[AndersHoveland]

another unusual way to dissolve gold: 1 part 70% concentrated nitric acid to 10 parts 98% concentrated sulfuric acid, will dissolve gold after being boiled for several minutes. Afterwards, if the dissolved gold in the acid mixture is carefully diluted with water, the gold will actually solidify out, back into its original elemental form! advantage of being able to dissolve gold-silver alloys, without need for inquartation. from: Sciencemadness- "dissolving gold in nitric/sulfuric acids"

[AndersHoveland]

another unusual way to dissolve gold: 1 part 70% concentrated nitric acid to 10 parts 98% concentrated sulfuric acid, will dissolve gold after being boiled for several minutes. Afterwards, if the dissolved gold in the acid mixture is carefully diluted with water, the gold will actually solidify out, back into its original elemental form! advantage of being able to dissolve gold-silver alloys, without need for inquartation. goldrefiningforum

[EdMcF1]

That somebody who dissolved the Nobel Medals was a Hungarian Jewish scientist, George de Hevesy, who also won a Nobel Prize for chemistry during the war, for his work on radioactive tracers.

[ZooropaTV]

He heard it on QI

[mariokillzuall]

Can you recover the gold back in some way?

[limefrog77]

@mariokillzuall yes you can recover the gold and one time it was done was during ww2 in Denmark. When Germany occupied Denmark, a scientist there took two gold nobel prizes and dissolved them in aqua regia so the Germans could not seize them. After the war, the scientist precipitated the gold back out of solution and sent the gold to Sweden for the Nobel commitee to recast the medals

[JuryDutySummons]

@limefrog77 WOW where did you hear -that- story?

[EdMcF1]

@mariokillzuall Yes, just neutralise the acid, baking soda would do it, and the gold will precipitate out. It would need to be melted back to make an ingot.

[izoeidolon]

Just came from SMBC.

[viktor0590]

@izoeidolon haha, me too

[invinciblemode]

What a careless mistake to leave a GOLD medal in the ONLY solution that can dissolve it, aqua regia..

[CrazyMan064]

@invinciblemode the scientist who dissolved the medals, Gyorgy Hevesy, did it on purpose, as Hitler had made it basically illegal to win a Nobel Prize for Germans, and thus if Hevesy and Bohr were found to have Nobel medals in their possession, they would have been prosecuted.

In short IT WASN'T A MISTAKE and was actually quite clever.

[invinciblemode]

@CrazyMan064 can't they just hide their medals in a safe, in a safe, in a safe, buried underground..?

[ericsbuds]

@invinciblemode NO! They must be dissolved into acids and recovered and restruck many years later! Thats the scientific way.

[invinciblemode]

@ericsbuds LMAO!

[hedleypanama]

NurdRage demonstrates that ruthenium (the embarassing element XD) withstands aqua regia: watch?v=H7Ng4sOVkns

why?

[Tropico212]

God I wish this guy had been my science teacher :<

[Almontmarine]

Can you sell me the chloroauric acid (HAuCl4)?

[ervali9]

stop licking batteries

[Al3xX420]

That's a cool story about the olympic gold medals.

[hikariyouk]

@Al3xX420 Nobel Prize medals.

[Al3xX420]

@hikariyouk yea thats what i meant

[Dozzer]

I'm curious how you would go about restoring the gold back from the solution!!

[Zanragnar]

@Dozzer Sodium Metabisulfite I believe. Not entirely sure, so you might want to verify that.

[Dozzer]

@Zanragnar Looks to me that it works! Cheers!

[BLSmithFilms]

Its interesting how a mad-scientist can inspire tens of thousands of people to watch. Keep it up guys! I love the vids!

[Apashiol]

I heard the story of Neils Bohr dissolving the gold medals and I was fascinated because when I was in school we were taught that no acid affected gold. So I searched for dissolving gold and ,lo and behold, I happen upon a video that talks about the very story. Cool :)

[Typho0n86]

What disolves glass then?? lol

[forbiddendonut1]

@Typho0n86 Hydrofluoric Acid.

[CarnalDiafragma]

@forbiddendonut1

And molten sodium hydroxide

[scienceman64]

its even better than oxyclean, except the fact that you clothes are so clean, they're in solution.

[stonerboner1252]

Aqua Regia BANG and the dirt is gone!!!

Doesn't have the same ring as Cillit

[cheepjxiong]

OMG....i love your hair....i want it....nice afro

[njx8]

@radicalipodtouch just add In lye or soap

[jstoddar]

his desktop looks just like mine :/

[duskedennis]

@jstoddar lol get a map and call it desktop... clean up dude i dont hope your room is like that desktop

[radicalipodtouch]

This video is Helpful but how do you destroy aqua regia

[RarelyEvil]

@radicalipodtouch Add it to a lot of water, it will thin the solution and the acid's effect.

[hawk151515]

@radicalipodtouch You can mix it with some baking powder an itll turn it into a neutral there by destroying it Idk the amount tho sorry

[radicalipodtouch]

@hawk151515 Thanks both awnsers helped

[hawk151515]

@radicalipodtouch No problem dude Glad to help :)

[ijunkie]

Really bang the dirt!!

[RarelyEvil]

@ijunkie Too bad it will also dissolve your hands.

[superdemonel]

were u electrocuted profesor??? your hair says yes :))

[d212611]

back to the future

[andrian110]

And I wonder what kind of acid can dissolve your hair, professor.

[A707B2]

Real trouble loading this!!

It only plays to 0:42 tried twice!

[moosekaw]

OH MAN LOOK AT HIS HAIR

HIS IQ MUST BE OVER 9000

[pontypagla]

@moosekaw over 9000!!!!

[fast11471]

@moosekaw 9000 THATS IMPOSSIBLE!! =)

[faconbill]

@fast11471 Yeah... Vegeta say that too...

[ReverendSyn]

@moosekaw You guys missed his earlier video, where he demonstrates why you should never pee on an electric fence

[witchdoctor88]

Dude, your barber called. He has a $10,000 bounty out for you!

[sammysignal]

you bang that dirt professor!

[Renaissanceman86]

So let me get this straight....once the gold is dissolved it can be recovered?

[pogogo51]

The compound gold turns into is Chloroauric acid. If Chloroauric acid is mixed with molten glass, it will be changed into ruby glass, which was said by alchemists to be magic. I am trying to make some myself.

[Fordi]

"We'll try aqua regia; see if that'll do it!"

Standard operating practice: when all else fails, get a nastier solvent ^_^. Last time that happened, I stopped at phenol.

[DeltaGale]

LOL love The Professor's hand gestures!!!

[totian99]

Aqua Regia was made by an Arab scientist names jeber bin Hayan in 8oo AD

[blueduderanch]

REALLY BANG THE DIRT!

[ph1ReW1ZaRd]

zweistein

[Azarien]

OMG, a MAD SCIENTIST!

[notoriousm]

this guy has the most stereotypical scientist look ever. haha. mad props.

[pbtwentythree]

How do you get the gold back after you dissolve it in Aqua Regia?

[TheSasukeBlack]

o.o cientico loco =x

[abhinayan27]

is it as fast as shown in the vid or is it a slow process???

im thnkn of doin it 4 a project....so reple soon plz...:)

[MuneoPollen]

@abhinayan27 That's a time lapse video, so it's slower than shown. Also it looks like they're heating it a fair bit to speed it up.

[babitazmanian]

Cool hair!

[TheOverkill102]

lol. Aqua Regia Last resort for cleaning dishes Meg lol

[washaway]

disolves the gold at 2:44

[tubheadtrevor]

I'm in Chem 1 in high school in the United States. Would you have to dilute the acid with a base and then, using a fume vent, evaporate the chemical to recover the gold?

[ryanmail2004]

I love banging dirt!

[KiloLima39]

So this is just pee right? lol

[favy086]

what a mess of icons that computer...

[oflamemakero]

nice haircut...lol

[GingyPno123]

Molten hot, concentrated Selenic acid H2SeO4 dissolves gold to produce gold(III) selenate.

[ACLincorperated]

what about hydrofluoric acid, could that dissolve gold

[EPICGUYDUDE]

what happened to the aqua regia? when they poured it into the beaker, it is colorless. when the put the gold in, it is yellow. what happened?

[Munusculum]

@EPICGUYDUDE The yellow color comes from the Nitric Acid. If it is too concentrated and left exposed it slowly breaks down into various Nitrous Oxides which give the water it's yellow color.

[Scrap5000]

I can't express in words how awesome you are, professor!

[Maadhawk]

Nice and informative also nice time lapse.

[sftf1]

what would happen if you added sulphuric acid to this?

[athakirch77]

Nice video but his hair is ridiculous.

[bemanos12345]

nice

[peng1110]

royal water...hah... it was very attracting when i was in junior high.. but afterall i get no access to both of them at the same time.. but at least high concerntrated H2SO4 was very useful when u want to light the matches

[jjkul1]

we should dip some royal personality in royal water...

[rhn94]

what is the reaction over there?? with gold ??

[BorbolonPrime]

If I had access to videos like these in my teenage years, I'd be a chemist today. As undergraduate engineer, I'll settle for fascination.

[BlackSkullRacer613]

In terms of danger to use, Aqua Regia is not as dangerous as hydrofluoric acid. Unlike Aqua Regia, HF will dissolve glass, and it is a contact poison.

[redneckcaseyjones]

Epic hair

[p6a9u1l42]

i love the professor he talks with his hands so much id love to sit down with these guys and just talk science i've watched almost every video and its good to see some educational videos on you tube and not just some stupid video's please keep making them i love free information

[differens]

Interesting. However, our professor suggested that we use "Chrome-Sulfuric acid" (basically it's Potassium Dichromate dissolved in hot concentrated Sulfuric acid) to clean difficult stains.

[wowacidia]

everytime i see one of your video's that professors hair is even more afro-ish, holyshit its amazing.

[GohanDaBest]

Can you Drink Royal Water? :P

[ironnica]

I cant remember exactly, but think we used this to digest copper before for a complexometric titration. that was last year, mind aint the greatest lol

[CelticReject]

Cool. But how could they have reclaimed the dissolved gold from the aqua regia/gold solution. Would they have evaporated all the liquid or something?

[sanfanucci]

if you look behind the mad scientist you can see a screen almost filled with programs and shortcuts but then on the screen beside it there is only one

[CelticReject]

@sanfanucci that's the document

[dendara100]

1:59 He got more icons on his computer lol

[ThatKidKnows]

Mmmm gold soup... Doesn't strike my fancy... What pH is this Aqua Regia anyway???

[crocluvkitty93]

1:23 quite a soup :)

[BasicModelling]

Regia Aeronautica used to dissolve the odd Spitfire and Hurricane during WWII, but they used a lead solution.. injected through the Hurricanes and Spitfires with the aid of machine guns..

[wolflover8012]

LOL when he said lion his hands went over his hair as if he was a lions mane lol

[wolflover8012]

if it dissloves the gold...wont it dissolve the containor it is in? haha lol

[crocluvkitty93]

@wolflover8012 the container is made of glass, not gold lol :)

[davidstem18]

Aqua FINISH HIM regis

gold K.O'ed

[omniexistus]

I've heard of the nutty professor stereotype guess it's true afterall

[doritosryummy]

i had to clean some really dirty NMR tubes. At first we used some nochromix but that didn't work so we used aqua regia. some of them were still dirty though.

[alixz777]

my brother wos mark O'Hara he told me neil bor wos wrong

[thaluszka1]

cool

[CarnalDiafragma]

AuCl4- ions are formed right? But in the aqua regia, nitrosylchloride is formed too, NOCl, does this play a role in dissolving gold too? Is it a catalyst?

[madjimms]

I put my moms necklace in this & now its dissolved, how do I undissolved it?

[ultrachemist13]

as i am writing this comment i have aqua regia in a test tube in my hand!!!!!!!

[letterpool]

Awesome... want their medals? pffft don't think so... I'll just dissolve them for these guys and then re-cast them after the war.

Science is awesome.

[indeedItdoes]

@letterpool

[ThePtcl2010]

@letterpool

[rockstarofredondo]

It's not gold that fascinates me, it's your hair. 0:18

[snateraar]

Lol. The stereotypical 'Mad Scientist'..

[ARISOMEONE1]

hi einstein i knew it. You seriosuly didn't die

[bcrscahh198987]

Look at all those icons in computer.

[Envergure]

I want to see you do a video of piranha solutions!

[digitised]

Aqua Regia is another name for Cillit Bang.

[miesrah12]

wow! that was smart hiding the gold in Aqua Regia. very crafty of them, but how do they get the gold back?

[metalicmario]

sodium metabisulfite

[BFADDICT]

@miesrah12

They precipitated the gold back out of the solution.

[miesrah12]

thx

[slickGrhyme]

through electrolysis :)

Another reason this solution may be named royal water is because gold (AU)is also known as a noble metal. It should be noted however that AR cant always dissolve gold. If the gold alloy contains too much silver (AG), AR will not be able to attack the gold because silver is impervious to AR. Silver actually reacts to AR the opposite of gold. Nitric + HCL acids cant attack silver but nitric alone will absolutely destroy AG.