Chlorine Trifluoride

[Fulvio]

Given the recent discussions about assorted bits of chemistry, I got to wondering if any of you were familiar with Derek Lowe's excellent and very amusing In the Pipeline Blog, particularly the entries on "Things I Won't Work With".

Easily the most popular entry is for Chlorine Trifluoride, a somewhat unpleasant concoction from the depths of the seventh plane of hell I reckon:

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time.php

Contains a link to a PDF of a report which in turn contains this snippet:

"During the liquid rocket propellant era, a major
incident involving ClF3 occurred the first time a
one-ton steel container was loaded with liquid ClF3
for bulk shipment. The container had been cooled
with dry ice to perform the liquid transfer and help
make the product safer to handle, since the ClF3
vapor pressure would only be about 0.007 kg/cm2
(0.1 psia) in the subcooled state. However, the dry
ice bath embrittled the steel container wall, which
split while it was being maneuvered onto a dolly,
instantaneously releasing 907 kg (2,000 lb) of cold
ClF3 liquid onto the building floor. The ClF3 dis-
solved the 30 cm (12 inch) thick concrete floor and
another 90 cm (36 inches) of gravel underneath
the spill. The fumes that were generated (chlorine
trifluoride, hydrogen fluoride, chlorine, hydrogen
chloride, etc.) severely corroded everything that
was exposed.3 One eyewitness described the inci-
dent by stating, "The concrete was on fire!""

And the followup, which includes video:
http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_some_empirical_findings.php

"And if anyone needs any more proof as to why, I present this video, made at some point by some French lunatics. You may observe the mild reactivity of this gentle substance as it encounters various common laboratory materials, and draw your own conclusions. We have Plexiglas, a rubber glove, clean leather, not-so-clean leather, a gas mask, a piece of wood, and a wet glove. Some of this, under ordinary circumstances, might be considered protective equipment. But not here."

Fun Fun Fun... Seriously, even if you haven't a clue what a humble H2O molecule looks like or does, do go and have a little browse around this blog. There' s lots of fun stuff there that will have you in stitches.

Now all I need to work out is how to harness this stuff to help get rid of that nasty verdigris... without also getting rid of the coin and the building containing it... :angel:

[coxspau]

Wow, nasty stuff. sciencemadness....sounds like a fun website to while a way a few hours

[trout]

Now there. Is something that theives should be introduced to :diablo:

[robbiegal]

why bother with all that stuff?
after all they are only coins
spend ém at the shop and save your lungs/health

honestly, I think it can get a tad ridiculous

worst comes to worse just dip the thing in oil and let the verdigris set - it should holt/stop it for quite some time

[Fulvio]

Now there. Is something that theives should be introduced to :diablo:

Nah.. this from one of the comments is better:

3. Feiser N. Feiser on February 26, 2008 12:22 PM writes...
"Ah, the old sand bucket. Was out in the hall outside the undergraduate labs. Might have been there since benzene was linear. Top was decorated with cigarette butts, dried gum, bits of paper. Then one day down the hall the THF still is being cleaned out - long over due. Thick clumps of whatever ketyl becomes. Inside, a bright shiny prize of sodium metal that disagrees with the optimistic and impatient grad student's use of straight ethanol as cleaning aid. Fire erupts. Extinguished by CO2. Humid day, icy glass, beads of water form and follow gravity down. Into and onto sodium metal. Fire erupts. Extinguished by CO2. Repeat several times until it dawns that CO2 will eventually run out. Send terrified lab mate down the hall to fetch savior: sand bucket! Weight of bucket: about 200 lbs. Skinny grad student risks hernia rushing it back to lab, arrives exhausted, collapses in victory like Pheidippides. Firefighting grad student drops damned CO2 tank, plunges bare hand into sand bucket. Screams in pain - sand has been accreted by age into protoconcrete, impermeable to human flesh, spatulae, metal rulers, etc. Fire meanwhile burns itself out. Sand bucket replaced for next sucker."

[robbiegal]

my hubby used to work in a lab
and they had some stuff there that if even a drop got on your shoe - it would burn through the shoe and through the foot - right the way through
can't remember what it was called

your posts are getting scary fulvio

[Fulvio]

your posts are getting scary fulvio

Heheh.. I had great teachers.

[robbiegal]

you are cheeky

[Fulvio]

you are cheeky

Y'think? Ye have noooooo idea, lassie!

[JeffH]

It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals-steel, copper, aluminium, etc.-because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal

So, should be ideal for cleaning gunk off coins! Not sure though how you then remove it from the coin -obviously can't wash it off.

I now have this  nasty substance top off my list of chemicals to avoid -with hydrogen cyanide and nitric acid has been relegated.

[robbiegal]

you are cheeky

Y'think? Ye have noooooo idea, lassie!

ha ha

[ausjack]

:laugh2: this thread reminds me of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0K_LZDXp0I

[Fulvio]

Hehe... they were such innocent times, weren't they?