Laser power supply fun

[FrankenPC]

Hydroflouric acid is extremely toxic, decalcifies your bones and soaks in through your skin very quickly.

There are tales of people who've spilt on their hands having to cut their arms off to save their lives, its very nasty stuff!

From the Wikipedia:

I'm hard pressed to think of anything nastier...other than direct exposure to gamma rays. Or the blood of Alien

[Jem]

Hydroflouric acid is extremely toxic, decalcifies your bones and soaks in through your skin very quickly.

There are tales of people who've spilt on their hands having to cut their arms off to save their lives, its very nasty stuff!

From the Wikipedia:

Hell... I'm feeling worse by the minute... I guess i'm lucky to still be alive

[heroic]

I'm hard pressed to think of anything nastier...other than direct exposure to gamma rays. Or the blood of Alien

Fluorosulfonic acid pales in comparison to this stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoroantimonic_acid

I suspect this is what the guy from Kodak was talking about. He wasn't quite right- you can keep it in PTFE bottles- but I don't really fancy the job of driving a truck full of the stuff... if you spilled this on yourself, all they'd find would be the teflon inserts on the frames of your glasses. Really, astonishingly unpleasant stuff. Used in the production of some of the molecular organic vapours I mentioned earlier- I stayed FAR away from that lab.

[FrankenPC]

Fluorosulfonic acid pales in comparison to this stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoroantimonic_acid

I suspect this is what the guy from Kodak was talking about. He wasn't quite right- you can keep it in PTFE bottles- but I don't really fancy the job of driving a truck full of the stuff... if you spilled this on yourself, all they'd find would be the teflon inserts on the frames of your glasses. Really, astonishingly unpleasant stuff. Used in the production of some of the molecular organic vapours I mentioned earlier- I stayed FAR away from that lab.

"Fluoroantimonic acid is 2×10^19 (20 quintillion) times stronger than 100% sulfuric acid. "

20 quintillion??????? :O

Edit: A new word I fear greatly: protonation.

[heroic]

"Fluoroantimonic acid is 2×10^19 (20 quintillion) times stronger than 100% sulfuric acid. "

And it decomposes explosively in the presence of water, which I'm sure makes it wonderful stuff to handle!

Seriously though, you quite often never realise what goes into making everyday items and the risks that some folks take to get them to us. I'll think about that now every time I switch on my PC.

This was at TI, where we made the processors for, oh, most of the cellphones out there at the time. Astonishingly, they hadn't had an accident in ten years when I got there, and I don't think there have been any since- they run an exceedingly tight ship. Fortunately for everyone!

[stanwax]

And it decomposes explosively in the presence of water, which I'm sure makes it wonderful stuff to handle!

so ya dont wanna run ya hand under the tap to wash it off

As for HF there was a lot of people unknowingly exposed to it in the motor trade in the mid '90s. Certain rubber products used in seals were made using HF which was fine until the rubber burned, at which point HF was liberated. Poor unsuspecting mechanics replacing failed wheel bearings would replace the oil seal and often the one taken out would have been hot enough to liberate the HF. Also cars that were being recovered from fire damage were a big risk and there was lots of warning circulating about the hazzard. Though there is (I beleive) an 'antidote' for it if it gets into your bones it will migrate disolving the bones as it goes, so amputation is the only way to stop the spread.

Grim stuff.

Rob

[h2so4]

These molecules you're talking about are pretty nasty stuff...For us it is better to stay with lasers - which are far less dangerous!!! (and we know that they aren't harmless at all...)

[heroic]

Though there is (I beleive) an 'antidote' for it if it gets into your bones it will migrate disolving the bones as it goes, so amputation is the only way to stop the spread.

Apparently these days they can use calcium gluconate to stop the spread, but I have no idea how effective it is- and apparently the process is astonishingly painful, too. Wonderful!

[stanwax]

So erm....what was that about a laser power supply?

Rob

[Banthai]

hehe ..... thread hijack

but an interesting one .... and before we get back to the power supply i would like to treat you to some poetry on the secondary subject .....

Poor John Brown is dead and gone
His Face you will see no more
for what he thought was h2o
Was h2so4

all the best ..... Karl