Can an alkaline solution of about 9.5 dissolve teeth?  Or do only acids dissolve teeth like with cavities?
828843
The enamel that coats teeth is composed mostly the mineral hydroxylapatite.\n\nThe chemical formula for hydoxylapatite is Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2.  Enamel is destroyed by acids when the H+ ions from the aqueous acid solution react with the OH hydroxyl group in hydroxylapatite, causing the whole mess of resulting ions to dissociate and dissolve in water:\nCa10(PO4)6(OH)2(s) + 8H+(aq) → 10Ca2+(aq) + 6HPO42-(aq) + 2H2O(l)\n\nSo, to answer your question, alkaline solutions cannot dissolve enamel; only acids can do that.  Strong bases will still cause problems, though, as they'll readily destroy other tissue in the mouth just as easily as a strong acid would.  Keep in mind that the pH scale is logarithmic, so a base of pH 9 is ten times 'stronger' than a base of pH 10, and pH 11 is one hundred times 'stronger' than pH 9.\n\n-BC
980105
Extreme pH(s) will affect the human skin adversely. In low pHs (acidic) the skin is pretty much dissolved. This is usually highly painful, fortunately for me, I have never spilled extremely concentrated acid on my body. However, at high pHs (basic) the fats in the skins begin a process in which i turns into a soap and litteraly slides off the body (gruesome) as bases are caustic! This isn't nearly as painful as acid burns however.\n\n\nACIDS:\n\n"Strong acids and most concentrated acids are dangerous, causing severe burns for even minor contact. Generally, acid burns are treated by rinsing the affected area abundantly with running water (15 minutes) and followed up with immediate medical attention. In the case of highly concentrated acids, the acid should first be wiped off as much as possible, otherwise the reaction of the acid dissolving in the water could cause severe thermal burns. In addition to dangers from the acidity, even dilute solutions of weak acids may also be dangerous, due to toxic or other effects of the ions involved. See an appropriate MSDS for more specific information." \n\nBASES:\n"A strong base is a base which hydrolyzes completely, raising the pH of the solution towards 14. Strong bases like strong acids attack living tissue and cause serious burns. They react differently to skin than acids do so while strong acids are corrosive, we say that strong bases are caustic."\n\nBe very careful with all chemicals!
929853
To answer this question I would need to what material you're using (wood, metal or what)  and what are the dissolving tablets (Alka-seltzer or hydrocloric acid). Sorry.
756622
In a weak solution Hydrogen peroxide won't harm you, but full strength it might "burn" new cells off from inside your mouth.  Never use it full strength.  It is a germ killer.
1027845
Roughly 6.9, since you can't raise the pH of pure water above 7 by adding an acid.
182248
No, no, no, common vinegar is NOT 33%, it is much closer to 5% (or 3% I suppose if you buy a very cheap-o brand).\n\nVinegar is a 5% solution of Acetic acid and water.  Acetic acid is a weak acid, meaning that most of it does not disassociate into ions when put into solution.\n\nYou can buyer higher [acid] concentrations of vinegar, I have seen "cleaning" vinegar sold as 10%, but most ordinary vinegar is a 5% solution by weight of HC2H3O2.\n\nBones are [partially I can only assume] made up of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3).  You can easily react CaCO3 with an acid such as vinegar to produce a Calcium salt and Carbon Dioxide gas (by means of a secondary reaction).  However, I have never heard of vinegar destroying anyone's bones.  If taken orally, it would stay in the digestive track, why would it go to the bones?  Plus, the Hydrochlorid acid in the stomach is much more concentrated and is a much stronger acid, it would have the greater potential to destroy bones, not vinegar, but we know that it doesnt.
384244
YES!!!! It still has phosphoric acid in it which is the main cause of demineralization of a tooth (decay process).  If the soda has sugar in it then the sugar takes over in the demineralization process in the areas that the acid did prior.  I have seen so many people, esp kids w/ a lot of decay inbetweeen their teeth from soda...any kind!! Gaterade and Kool-Aid are other big no gos when it comes to teeth
288115
It would largely depend on the polarity of the bond.\n\nEver hear of the "like dissolves like" rule?\nWater, being a polar molecule, will dissolve other polar molecules as well as ionic compounds.  If the colvalently bonded molecule you are trying to dissolve is polar, you have a good chance at dissolving it in water (actual solubility values will varry).  However, if the molecule is non-polar, the molecule is not going to be soluble.\n\nExample,\nWater will easily dissolve "Salt" (NaCl) since it is an ioic compound.\nWater will dissolve alcohol since alcohol has an OH group, making it polar.\nWater will not dissolve gassoline for example since it is a non-polar hydrocarbon (that is why you cant mix oil and water).
407156
The corrosive properties of an acid or base depend on the concentration as well as the chemical (maybe dissolved in water).  If you put your finger in sulfuric acid, it was probably not that concentrated.\n\nNitric acid, hydrochloric acid (this is in your stomach), and fuming sulfuric acid (it gives off sulfur trioxide) are all very strong acids.\n\nIf you want to dissolve gold or platinum (very hard), you need a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid (aqua regia, read more on wikipedia).\n\nSodium hydroxide (lye) and sodium hypochlorite (bleach) are very caustic bases.\n\nIf the question is what is the most basic or acidic substance, it is hard to find a limit.  In organic chemistry, some useful compounds for synthisis are lithium-alkanes, such as n-butyl lithium.  It is an incredibly strong base because its conjugate acid, butane, is an incredibly weak acid.
940690
that would depend on the molarity of the substance. there could be any number of moles in that much solution.
27696
Gold is very nonreactive.  It will not dissolve once in your mouth (unlike the mercury compounds used in other dental work).  If it does not dissolve, it cannot poison you.
1102382
You can dissolve it in water. Upto 7.4 g dissolves in 100 mL of water.  This solution will be acidic.
962206
Chalk is a calcium salt, and as such will probably dissolve in an acidic environment. Try  some common acidic liquids like seltzer (a weak acid) , vinegar or lemon juice.
62986
Molecular compounds do not dissolve in aqueous solution. Ionic compounds do. Sugar does not dissolve readily into water because it is an organic substance. Organic substances do not dissolve easily.
378321
Sugar does because its bonds are non-ionic. Salt has ionic bonds and they are harder to break in order for it to dissolve.\n\nHOWEVER, there are many factors to be considered. fine salt may dissolve faster than a large piece of rock candy. The surface area to weight ratio of the solid plays a huge role in the rate.\n\nOh. And flour isn't very soluble in water.
619898
Yes, teeth are composed of four distinct tissues: enamel, dentin, pulp, and cementum.\n\nThe largest organic something in your teeth is Collagen, followed by Enameloid protein, lipids, peptides, glycoproteins, and glycosaminoglycans (long polymers of proteins and carbohydrates, with regular sequences, cf glycoproteins: short polymers with irregular sequences). These are proteins associated with the dentine and basal plate and do not include proteins of cell contents, serum, or organic acids involved in apatite mineralization.\n\nThe largest inorganic something in your teeth is apatite and smaller amounts of other crystalline forms of calcium phosphate and amorphous (non-crystalline) calcium phosphates is also found in the dentine.\n\nfollowed by trace elements of Fe, Zn, Sr, Cu, Mn and Ag.\n\nSo yes.  But I can't see any spinach!
947749
Without knowing exactly what you did I can't answer this question!  Dissolution in dilute sodium hydroxide solution, filtration to remove any fillers etc, re-precipitation with hydrochloric acid and isolation by filtration should have given you an answer of some sort. Not exactly accurate though.