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TIL you can literally drink pure Phosphoric Acid and it wont destroy your mouth. I mean i knew it wasnt the strongest of acids but I didnt realize how weak it was.
I found this out because a vitamin I bought is 95% water and 5% pure phosphoric acid. i put a few drops out and let the water evaporate then licked it and to my surprise it was tart but didnt burn. Should have been close to 85% pure after the bulk of the water evaporated.
@freemo fun experiment! It is not considered a strong acid in that it does not fully dissociate in water, but it still, IMO, deserves a little cautious respect. Fully protonated phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is ~150x stronger than acetic acid (vinegar). In your mixture, it may have been present to pronate the vitamin to make it positively charged and therefore more soluble. The second deprotonation (of H2PO4-) is ~300 times weaker than acetic acid.
@GetzlerChem No no the vitamin literally is "Phiosphorus" and the ingredient list is "Water, Orthophosphoric acid". It is 50mg phosphorus per 1ml of the vitamin. So I figured it is at least 5% phosphoric acid or more (I'd have to work it out to see). I let it evaporate to a thick oily liquid and then licked it.
@freemo oh wow. Wild that it's not sold as the phosphate salt. H3PO4 will def etch your tooth enamel if it sits there for long.
@GetzlerChem It is in a lot of sodas for tart flavor in its acid form. It is a common food additive. You are supposed to dissolve this in water though.
@GetzlerChem Also at its normal concentration if you put a full dropper amount on your tongue it will irritate it slightly, but overall very tolerable.