Strength of acid

[Primarygun]

Which of the following solution has a stronger power to destroy things? A drop of solution with pH 1, A beaker of solution with pH 3. If both of them are put onto your skin, please think of the result after 2 days. Neglect evaporation.

[JaKiri]

they'd both be pretty damaging, but the drop would be severely limited because, whilst 'powerful', it would run out of reactant fairly quickly.

[budullewraagh]

it all depends on the amount of solution you have in the beaker. if it is 100 times more than the drop, the beaker's solution should be more damaging

[jdurg]

it all depends on the amount of solution you have in the beaker. if it is 100 times more than the drop, the beaker's solution should be more damaging

 

Yes, but you also need to take into account the surface area of exposure. It doesn't matter if it's 100 times more solution in the beaker than in the drop if that beaker solution is spread out over a larger area. The initial question should have specified the type of damage being looked at, and whether the 'damage' is considered over a short period of time or a long period of time. (For example, a very dilute solution of hydrocyanic acid is potentially more damaging than a concentrated solution of acetic acid). So some more specifics really need to be setup for this question in order to get any type of valid answer.

[budullewraagh]

yes, i was speaking of overall damage. as well, it depends on your acid. permanganic acid would certainly cause more damage at pH=3 than, say, acetic acid would at pH=1.

 

fluorosulfonic acid at pH=3 would be much more damaging than your average carborane acid