hydrofluoric

Hy`dro*flu*or"ic, a. Etym: [Hydro-, 2 + fluoric.] (Chem.) Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, hydrogen and fluorine; fluohydric; as, hydrofluoric acid. Hydrofluoric acid (Chem.), a colorless, mobile, volatile liquid, HF, very corrosive in its action, and having a strong, pungent, suffocating odor. It is produced by the action of sulphuric acid on fluorite, and is usually collected as a solution in water. It attacks all silicates, as glass or porcelain, is the agent employed in etching glass, and is preserved only in vessels of platinum, lead, caoutchouc, or gutta-percha.

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