Aqua regia

Description

Common name for an acid mixture that contains 3 parts Hydrochloric acid and 1 part Nitric acid. Aqua regia will dissolve all metals except Silver. In the 18th century, a block of tin was dropped in aqua regia to produce Tin chloride. This dark red colorant was used in marbling book edges.

Synonyms and Related Terms

nitrohydric acid; yellow fuming liquid; nitro-muriatic acid; nitrohydrochloric acid; chloronitrous acid; chlorazotic acid; killed spirits

Applications

Used for testing gold and platinum

Risks

Toxic. Corrosive. Powerful oxidizing agent

Resources and Citations

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998.

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 404

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000