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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 1929519, member: 27832&quot;]That&#039;s actually one of the <i>definitions</i> of &quot;acid&quot;. Also, when it&#039;s not in water (or at least hydrated), it&#039;s a fairly strong Lewis acid, but that&#039;s not really relevant to this discussion.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s the product of a strong acid (hydrochloric) and a weak base (ferric hydroxide), so it is itself acidic -- just like sodium carbonate, the product of a weak acid (carbonic) and a strong base (sodium hydroxide), is basic (alkaline).</p><p><br /></p><p>The reason it attacks copper, though, is that it <i>oxidizes</i> the copper -- not to copper oxide, which would tend to form a protective film, but to cuprous and then cupric chloride, which dissolves away. At least, that&#039;s the way I understand it. I&#039;m not entirely sure what it does to nickel -- whether it oxidizes nickel the same way, or whether the hydrochloric acid it forms just reacts with the nickel via hydrogen displacement.</p><p><br /></p><p>Quick, someone light the BadThad signal! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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