Question of the Past

I just remembered a question I had thought up a long time ago to ask my old Science Teacher but never did. Maybe you guys can answer me.

"If I took one of the most acidic substances Hydrochloric Acid and combined it with one of the most basic Sodium Hydroxide, would I be able to safely ingest the result? HCl+NaOH->NaCl+H2O seems to say "yes" the end result would be harmless salt water, but is this formula correct?

I lol'd

Assuming you get the stoichiometry exactly correct, then yes.

I don't know about the phenophthalein, however.

Most acidic substance:
Antimony Pentafluoride and Hydrofluoric acid.
Forms SbF^6- and H(+) basically.
(There are probably better versions now)

Most alkaline substance:
Probably something like sodamide in liquid ammonia.

Even if you got the stoichiometry exactly correct, you wouldn't want to drink that. It's below -78 C, and is a nice mixture of shit you wouldn't want to drink ever.  Although, in the sense that you have now got Na^+ SbF^6- and ammonia, it isn't as bad as drinking the original things.

Now, if you're talking about aqueous acids/bases, then we're not going to have the same problem with just generally toxic chemicals, except that most of the acids are very strong oxidising agents as well (nitric, periodic), and so would be dangerous generally.
Also, when you say "most acidic substances" hydrochloric acid, you do realise that hydrochloric is about the 'weakest' strong acid? Nitric and sulphuric are both significantly stronger.

Plus, your representation of the equation is slightly wrong, in that the lack of state symbols imply salt crystals crystalising out, but you're otherwise correct.
>>3
Why would you need the phenolphthalein? Just measure it accurately  with an indicator and then measure it accurately without. In the example, you'd have to really cock up to make something that'd do something seriously wrong though. I mean, you might get pH 10 or 4, but that isn't going to screw you up.

tl;dr
If you're doing it in solution and haven't cocked it up, you're probably not going to be wrong.

Fuck. Last word ought to be dead.

>>1
Back in Y11 Chemistry I combined approximately matched amounts of Sodium Hydroxide and Hydrochloric Acid as part of a titration experiment, dried out the solution in a ceramic dish over a bunsen and proceeded to sprinkle the salt over a fresh batch of fries from the school shop. Much to the encouragement of our chemistry teacher, who felt that slight poisoning would remind us to do ours calcs properly next time.

>>6
How about a double titration of HCl and AcOH against sodium hydroxide? Make your chips even tastier.

>>4
OP here. I expected a response like yours as I was writing the question, if you direct your attention to my post you'll notice the words, "one of" preceeding both NaOH and HCl. I don't claim them as the extremes.

and it's been about 6 years since HS Chemistry, so you gotta give me some leeway on my equation writing skills.

>>8
redcream posted anonymous in 4 thats why you get that faggotry

Try it and see

>>9
Fuck you. I'm not redcream or any fucking namefag. And I wasn't just correcting the OP, I was also adding extra information, which would help their understanding of the question. 

You know you're doing well online when people frequently see you in anonymous posters.  It's a creeping, crawling fear that they cannot escape.  Having constructed my own lightsaber, my skills are complete.  REDCREAM REDCREAM REDCREAM!

>>7

Actinium hydroxide?

>>13
Radioactive fun for the whole family.

>>13
Ac = Acyl CH3C=O with a bond to something else.
Like Me, Et, Ph.

>>15
Gah, meant acetyl. Not acyl. Acetyl is a type of acyl.

>>3
winrar.  I think phenolphthalein is mildly toxic.  Drinking concentrated salt water isn't exactly healthy, so it's still probably not a good idea.

>>4
Below -78C?  Is that as a result of the endothermic reaction (is it)?  I don't see anything preventing one from microwaving the solution.

It's not a buffer solution, so even a tiny bit of leftover reactants can cause a major shift in the pH.  If you're monitoring it closely, then you will get an accurate approximation to salt water.

>>6
If you're doing something like that, you should err on the side of excess HCl.  HCl is a gas at STP, while NaOH is not -> excess HCl will leave in the evaporation process, while excess NaOH will stay behind and give you bitter fries.

>>12
*sigh*

>>14
lol