72/93 Its affinity for water is such that it rapidly absorbs it from the atmosphere, and when mixed with water much heat is evolved. It acts energetically upon animal and vegetable substances, and is a poisonous, dangerous substance to get on the skin. It is a powerful oxidizing agent; hence its use in the galvanic battery, for which purpose it is mostly used by the Daguerreotypist. The fumes of this being so much more offensive than nitric acid, the latter is sometimes used. It is also employed in some of the more sensitive accelerators. |