Posted by Jock on December 06, 2006 at 21:08:06 from 87.105.81.146 user Jock.
In Reply to: Re: Captain Flint's travels - overcooked? posted by Jon on December 06, 2006 at 15:10:21:
Surely the presence of silver vs. platinum in a gold/(unknown silverish coloured metal) mixture could be distinguished relatively simply.
Absolutely. By treating the mixture with nitric acid. The acid would dissolve silver forming silver nitrate (as used in traditional photography), but would have no effect on the platinum.
This week's homework is to explain in a short paragraph how you would go about separating a mixture of gold and platinum.