AQUAFORTIS

Aqua fortis

Aqua fortis, or "fortified water," in alchemy, is nitric acid . Being highly corrosive, the solution was used in alchemy for dissolving silver and most other metals with the notable exception of gold, which can only be dissolved using aqua regia or "regal water". Aqua fortis was prepared by mixing either sand, alum, or vitriol, or the last two together, with saltpeter, then distilling it by a hot fire. The gas collected from this condenses into aqua fortis. It was first described by alchemist Pseudo-Geber.

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aqua fortis

Noun

(abbreviated A.F.)
  1. Nitric acid.
  2. A corrosive liquor made of saltpeter, serving as a solvent for dissolving silver and all other metals except gold.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: aqua fortis
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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