Boils at 53F. The compound is primarily of interest in and etching operations in the semiconductor industry, in nuclear reactor fuel processing, as a . Stross is good at postulating alternate causes that sound potentially plausible if you accept a ridiculous starting point. IDLH Value: 12 ppm (45 mg/m3) Basis for IDLH Value: The IDLH value for chlorine trifluoride (CIF3) is based on data on eye irritation in rats exposed at a concentration of 480 ppm for 5 minutes, which was determined to be escape-impairing [Horn and. Contact with organic materials may result in spontaneous ignition. CIF3 oxidizes so well that it can ignite things that are otherwise fireproof, even famously flame-retardant asbestos. Have you heard the joke about the universal solvent? What's that? There's a small leak in a storage unit, and chlorine trifluoride reaches a nearby surface, immediately starting a toxic reaction that will kill many people on the ship because they're trapped in space and have nowhere to hide. Powered by Tumblr. A violent reaction occurs with water or ice generating acidic HF and chlorine, [Sidgwick, 1156(1950)]. . The annual Perseid meteor shower is upon us. . It doesn't look much better if your shell breaches the hull in a shallow manner either. An explanation of the molecular geometry for the ClF3 (Chlorine trifluoride) including a description of the ClF3 bond angles. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended a good pair of running shoes.". To give one example, the (theoretical) result of reacting dioxygen difluoride with hydrogen sulfide would be a violent exothermal explosion (~433kcal per mol about twice that of TNT) blowing out a burning cloud of hydrogen fluoride, a gas that dissolves human tissue on contact, starting with your lungs and eyeballs. Or it's just banned by acting rules of engagement. Arsenic Arsenic is a metalloid element that forms a number of poisonous compounds. So I thought today I'd step back to a period when men were men and chlorine azide was a reactive, toxic, and unstable compound that was only good for finding out what sort of explosion it would set off next. What else doth chlorine azide detonate with? It's a spacious game preserve, that territory, and over the gate is the ornate motto Noli me tangere. All rights reserved. It is known to ignite sand, asbestos, glass, and even ashes of substances that have already burned in oxygen. Yes - if doused in chlorine trifluoride. An editorially independent blog, all content is Dereks own, and he does not in any way speak for his employer. How to intersect two lines that are not touching. Once it turns into a gas, ClF3 is colorless with a sweet and pungent odor. Well, due to the fact that chlorine trifluoride is such a great oxidizer, there have been several attempts to use it as a low-cost, lightweight rocket fuel, starting with the Nazis who tried to use it to propel torpedoes. Chlorine trifluoride is one of the most horrifying substances on Earth. It is used in rocket fuels and in processing nuclear . They started churning the stuff out by the tons before deciding it was far too unstable and reactive to handle. Once you hit the enemy, the shell must be strong enough to penetrate the hull and deliver the payload. The smallest error in handling it could quite easily kill everyone nearby. Things I won't work with: Dioxygen Difluoride. Have fun. This technical report presents the IDLH value for chlorine trifluoride (CAS No. @ozone - it's false. Try one more set of practice questions with a slightly more complicated reaction. This cooling is tricky, but has been most successfully done by forcing the gas to condense on liquid oxygen-cooled stainless steel. Answer (1 of 4): CHAOS LEVEL 10!! How Can You Be a Steward of Good Tech in 2023? 1) Chlorine Trifluoride is the most flammable gas. But we don't really have to worry about that too much. The diatomic fluorine dissociates into fierce monatomic fluorine, which binds to the oxygen molecules to produce FOOF. It's a ruse to get them to fill tanks with "nitrogen or noble gases" and bring them into space for us to take away, by threatening them with the big dumb rocks we normally throw at each other. New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water with which it reacts explosively. (Actually, the other runs probably yielded that, too, albeit as a fine haze). Although scores of violent detonations have occurred, with resultant demolition of much apparatus, no personal injury has been suffered. CIF3 is its own oxidizer and so doesn't rely on the atmosphere to burn in that sense, but venting the atmosphere will almost certainly remove all of the CIF3, which is gaseous under normal conditions and would be vented along with the atmosphere. The space, however, is made of space, lots of it :) So typically, there will be quite a bunch of space between you and your enemy, be it spaceship combat or orbital bombardment. After it has absorbed a bit, it starts destroying your nerves and bones and can ultimately cause cardiac arrest when it gets into your blood stream. So space warfare will resort to ClF3 only on some specific circumstances: The only thing even less practical is to whip up a batch of FOOF and attempt to hit your enemy with it before your own ship is consumed. Or it's used intentionally as a nasty disgusting weapon that people normally don't use to shock the enemy. [F-].F [Cl++] Reacts with benzene, toluene, ether, alcohol, acetic acid, selenium tetrafluoride, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, alkali, hexane. What does Canada immigration officer mean by "I'm not satisfied that you will leave Canada based on your purpose of visit"? Reichsmark exchange rate values from 1942 to 1944 are fragmentary. Six Planets are Retrograde, What Does that Mean for You? (Yes, people have actually done this.) Its been used in the semiconductor industry to clean oxides off of surfaces, at which activity it no doubt excels. Frankly, the more difficult it is (so long as some future tech can automate the process) the more interesting it would be in a book. rate = - [A]/ t. In the nuclear industry, chlorine trifluoride is used to prepare uranium hexafluoride, a volatile compound of uranium used in the separation or uranium isotopes. "It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals steel, copper, aluminium, etc. The spaceship gets hit by something, causing a breach that releases chlorine trifluoride and unleashes hell. This is an answer the God Emperor approves of. Even the nukes do their job via a nuclear reaction, but that reaction isn't run at our military bases, ships or planes; a projectile starting that reaction when it arrives is used as a weapon instead. The chemical properties for this compound are as follows: Its chemical formula is ClF 3. rev2023.4.17.43393. Chlorine trifluoride is very unstable so it's energetically favourable to react with almost anything to produce more stable fluorides; releasing oxygen, chlorine and compounds of the two. How can Bronze Age people make hazmat gear for chlorine trifluoride? You may observe the mild reactivity of this gentle substance as it encounters various common laboratory materials, and draw your own conclusions. ClF3 will quickly corrode even noble metals like iridium, platinum, or gold, oxidizing them to chlorides and fluorides. I really have to salute the dedication involved in finding that out, though - after two or three violent explosions, you or I might be tempted to just say that we couldn't determine the products of the reaction. Image by Koisny under Creative Commons license. Pretty self-explanatory. because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminium keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metalssteel, copper, aluminum, etc.because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride that protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminum keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. It must have been one helluva weapon if even Hitler didn't use it (Spoiler Alert: It was). (The list of people who were blown up and poisoned while trying to do so is impressive). A few of the other things known to not react with chlorine trifluoride include nitrogen, the inert gases and polychlorotrifluoroethylene. Call me The Terrible, or terry if you like. But things get even worse for our nasty chemical, if one thinks more. Ill be lacing mine up if anyone tries to bring the stuff into my lab. This liquid chemical is so corrosive that it can virtually burn through anything. The propellant in its liquid state has a very pale green-yellow color and in the solid state is white. Oxidizing agents cause substances to lose electrons. Dioxygen difluoride is a compound of fluorine and oxygen with the molecular formula O 2 F 2.It can exist as an orange-colored solid which melts into a red liquid at 163 C (110 K). Thoughts? Your email address will not be published. 2023 Warner Bros. Over the years, Ive probably had more hits on mySand Wont Save You This Timepost than on any other single one on the site. Take heed. John Howard, M.D. The following passage by rocket scientist John D. Clark is widely quoted in descriptions of the substance's extremely hazardous nature: It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. Chlorine trifluoride is one of the most horrifying substances on Earth. Q&A for work. 7790-91-2). Chlorine Trifluoride is a colorless gas or a white solid with a sweet, suffocating odor. Sensory loss has a profound effect on millions of peoples everyday lives. The abomination that is ClF3 is disgustingly reactive, and even the products if you let it roam wild are acutely toxic and reactive (less reactive than ClF3 but still). Chlorine trifluoride has been investigated as a high-performance storable oxidizer in rocket propellant systems. If you throw water on the source of the problem, it will get worse. Chlorine and fluorine are nasty enough by themselves, but at least in normal conditions they bond with themselves in diatomic molecules, which reduces their hunger for electrons of their neighbours. It's the things around them that alter. Are there some dangerous experiments that scientists/physicists are too afraid to execute? Fluorine is known as the most powerful oxidizing agent out of all the elements in fact, it's so reactive that it turns water into oxygen on contact. Chlorine trifluoride is one of the most horrifying substances on Earth. The elongated Cl-F axial bonds are consistent with hypervalent bonding. For instance, its great for plasmaless cleaning of certain surfaces used in semiconductor manufacturing and it also works well at cleaning uranium residue off of the walls of nuclear power plants and removing built up oxides. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Dang! But chlorine azide has not been weaponized, nor will it be. In particular, CIF3 would make for perfectly destructive flamethrowers and bombs. This colorless, poisonous, corrosive, and extremely reactive gas condenses to a pale-greenish yellow liquid, the form in which it is most often sold (pressurized at room temperature). Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Steel, copper, and nickel are not consumed because a passivation layer of insoluble metal fluoride will form which prevents further corrosion, but molybdenum, tungsten, and titanium are unsuitable as the fluorides that they form are volatile. Maybe a kamikaze run? 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Required fields are marked *. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. "Things I Won't Work With" : Chlorine Trifluoride. 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