What is the most dangerous chemical that you know about

[Kryten]

If we're just naming radioisotopes, surely Cf-252 would be much worse than any of those.

[xebx]

If we're just naming radioisotopes, surely Cf-252 would be much worse than any of those.

Californium 252 (19.8E+12 Bq/g - 2.6y) - Alpha and Gamma Rays, High Neutron Source

Yep one of the worst when out of control or largely produced (or the best for military or small experimental science applications)

[problemecium]

How about negative matter? Negative asidoazide azide for instance?

Actually scratch that. I know an even more dangerous substance: the stuff that makes up a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_star#Planck_star

That or Liquid Schwartz. ;P

[sgt_flyer]

antimatter alone will not do better than matter

If you mix an antimatter chemical with the equivalent chemical (or simply come into contact with classic matter), you'll simply end up with a matter - antimatter annihilation anyway (total conversion into energy from the annihilation)

[Pixel of Life]

U-235. I won't post it here because it might be too extreme for some of the younger members, but if you google "Hisashi Ouchi", you can see what happens when you're exposed to 17 Sv of radiation. First it burns you really, REALLY bad and then it peels your skin and flesh right off till there's nothing left but bones. What a horrible way to die.

I suppose it can happen with any radioactive element once critical mass is reached.

[Ethanadams]

His ha ouchie when you bones become so weak that a doctor taking you pulse could break your wrist

- - - Updated - - -

Also Francium if we got enough to look i

at about 1 gram it would last for barely any time and give of so much beta decay that you would die in minutes

[Alshain]

Iron Thermite.

It isn't explosive but when ignited it will melt your skin... and other soft tissues... and bones... and many metals, even some steel.

Edited October 3, 2015 by Alshain

[Friend Bear]

Potassium

Highly combustible

[Brethern]

DHMO is nasty stuff. Inhaling it is most often lethal. It can cause serious burns and it messes with electrical systems.

All rivers and lakes contain high concentrations and nearly all food items are contaminated with it. Worst of it all governments worldwide are refusing to ban it despite the dangers. Instead they are stockpiling it in purified form.

Hydrogen fluoride, HF and hydrogen peroxide, H₂O₂ also score pretty darn high. They're relatively easy to come by and can do some serious nasty damage.

DHMO Is only dangerous if you breath it in while it's in liquid form. Once it's a gas it's safe to breath in.

Secondly in it's pure form it only kills you if you fall into it. Seriously people do research before posting stuff.

[More Boosters]

FOOF. What sounds like a companion for Winnie the Pooh is a ridiculously powerful oxidant that can set fire to water, sand, anything you thought couldn't burn and/or melt away.

Unlike Chlorine Triflouride, which can also set fire to the sand and actually has done it in an industrial accident, nobody wants to get anywhere near FOOF or try to use it anywhere.

Anthrax is a disease caused by bacillus anthracis...

I blame Command & Conquer Generals.

Edited October 3, 2015 by More Boosters

[Pixel of Life]

Secondly in it's pure form it only kills you if you fall into it. Seriously people do research before posting stuff.

Not true. There's a thing called water intoxication which can be lethal. I've heard of quite a few incidents in my country where people (mostly dumb kids) have died because they had a "who can drink the most water" competition.

[peadar1987]

DHMO Is only dangerous if you breath it in while it's in liquid form. Once it's a gas it's safe to breath in.

Secondly in it's pure form it only kills you if you fall into it. Seriously people do research before posting stuff.

I think it is you who should do the research. Under many circumstances, gasous DHMO can cause serious burns to both the inside and outside of a human body. People have also been known to lose fingers from coming into contact with the solid form.

Humans undergo acute respiratory failure when they inhale only small amounts of the pure liquid. You most certainly do not need to fall in.

[SciMan]

Even the less radioactive isotopes of most well-known radioactive elements will STILL give you heavy metal poisoning.

Plutonium is particularly evil in this regard. Lets see:

Highly radioactive? Check.

Acutely poisonous? Check.

Chronically poisonous? Check (from both chemical and radioactive points of view).

Oh, and when it oxidizes it turns into a very fine powder that is quite easily turned into an aerosol.

It's radioactivity means that that powder will spontaneously become charged, which means it's even easier for it to start flying around in the air.

The problems with containing Plutonium dust are one of the reasons that HEPA filters were invented (High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestance filter).

[Brethern]

I think it is you who should do the research. Under many circumstances, gasous DHMO can cause serious burns to both the inside and outside of a human body. People have also been known to lose fingers from coming into contact with the solid form.

Humans undergo acute respiratory failure when they inhale only small amounts of the pure liquid. You most certainly do not need to fall in.

It's only harmful in gas form if it's been exposed to intense heat, without intense heat it's fine.

As for the small amounts they only undergo respiratory failure if medical attention isn't immediately given. Yes people have lost fingers after exposure to the solid form but that's due to not wearing proper protection.

[SciMan]

Can we start calling DHMO water again? Please?

I get the joke, but it's only funny once.

Besides, in many cases it's not the water that's doing the harm. With the "intense burns" hazard, ANY material at that temperature would do the same, or worse.

Oh, and in a high pressure directed stream, WATER is capable of severing limbs.

[Camacha]

As for the small amounts they only undergo respiratory failure if medical attention isn't immediately given. Yes people have lost fingers after exposure to the solid form but that's due to not wearing proper protection.

Radio isotopes are harmless. It is just a matter of wearing proper protected

[ZetaX]

Well, drinking that stuff in it's purest possible form can actually kill you easily.

It is simply a myth that any reasonable amount of pure water is dangerous to drink. You need something like 5-10 liters to die from it, but that works equally well with less pure versions or even sodas.

I think it is you who should do the research. Under many circumstances, gasous DHMO can cause serious burns to both the inside and outside of a human body. People have also been known to lose fingers from coming into contact with the solid form.

In both cases it's not the DHMO but simply the temperature that is the problem. So you just demonstrated that heat and cold are dangerous "chemicals". We should obviously ban those. And all types of matter or energy while we are at it.

[sgt_flyer]

Well demineralised water (basically pure H2O) can still be dangerous for health if you only drink that over time (even in reasonable amounts) - not replacing the minerals in your body is not really healthy

Now, the DHMO trend started as a social experiment meant to prove that if information is presented a certain way, you can influence people (here, it was for signing a ban against DHMO ) As of today, there are still people who fall into it

Edited October 4, 2015 by sgt_flyer

[Mikki]

...Now, the DHMO trend started as a social experiment meant to prove that if information is presented a certain way, you can influence people (here, it was for signing a ban against DHMO ) As of today, there are still people who fall into it

When i was young i gave once an answer to a senior engineer like this:

He: "How are these components supposed to be cleaned for maintenance?"

Me: "Ahh, we use clean heated pressurized recycled Dihydrogenmonoxide, without additives..."

He starred at me and was thinking a long time about my answer, then he suddenly turned away. He never asked me again a thing.

[technion]

Things I Won't Work With,

Speaking for myself, "Things I Won't Work With" include PHP code that uses eval().

[Mikki]

But back to the Topic:

My answer is DNA (or DNS), depending to language

[Scotius]

I just realised - no one mentioned nitroglycerin. It too killed a lot of people.

[peadar1987]

It's only harmful in gas form if it's been exposed to intense heat, without intense heat it's fine.

Did you know that many sources of heat capable of producing this dangerous gaseous form are found inside the typical American household?

As for the small amounts they only undergo respiratory failure if medical attention isn't immediately given. Yes people have lost fingers after exposure to the solid form but that's due to not wearing proper protection.

And the very fact that you need such protection shows just how dangerous DHMO really is.

In both cases it's not the DHMO but simply the temperature that is the problem. So you just demonstrated that heat and cold are dangerous "chemicals". We should obviously ban those. And all types of matter or energy while we are at it.

Did you know that in cold conditions, DHMO that has entered your cells crystallises and bursts out through the membrane in razor-like shards, completely killing the cell in the process? This is the kind of chemical we're dealing with here.

Edited October 4, 2015 by peadar1987

[sgt_flyer]

Peadar i think we are now well aware of the dangers of DHMO, (Dyhydrogen Monoxyde, AKA H2O )

Of course it can do all that. But given the number of posts on it already in this thread, i don't think it's useful to continue peole interested will check on the DHMO website

Granted, the peculiar (and almost unique) reactions water undergo when solidyfying are damn dangerous, due to the cristallisation.

But imagine the effects other more chemicals could have when their temperature change past their boiling point ?

Example, mercury boils at 356°C - imagine the disastrous combined effects of mercury vapors on a human between the burn and the mercury poisoning.

[peadar1987]

Indeed. But on the subject of dangerous chemicals, I'd say drowning deaths are far in excess of deaths from poisoning, burning, dissolving, exploding, or irradiation from any of the nasty chemicals people are talking about.