[Rockhounds] attacking quartz without hydrofluoric acid

[J Bryan Kramer]

Hmmm... I think I'd rather work with HF than hot pressurized sodium
hydroxide solution. Acids require caution, but concentrated bases are much
more dangerous since YOU are soluble in them, especially your eyes. YMMV

BK

On Dec 25, 2007 9:28 PM, Kreigh Tomaszewski <Kreigh at tomaszewski.net> wrote:

> It is my understanding that quartz is usually precipitated by alkaline
> solutions. Adding heat and pressure may dissolve existing quartz without
> the use of Fluorine.
>
> Kreigh
>
>
> Erich Kern wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > BTW, if you wet your hand with fresh water before putting it in an acid
> solution, it helps a great deal to minimise skin irritation.
> >
> > Erich Kern
> > Murrieta, Calif.
>


--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---