Chemicals/silver polish
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Question
what is the use of sodium bicarbonate in this experiment (silver polish)
HI, and thanks for our question.
I'm not quite sure which experiment you mean, but I hope the following helps:
In commercial silver polish, Sodium Bicarbonate neutralises acidic residue (e.g. from finger marks, atmospheric pollution and so on), removing them and preventing them from attacking the metal.
It's also possible to clean silver by putting it in a warm solution of sodium carbonate with some pieces of aluminium foil: the aluminium and soda react together to form Hydrogen, which reacts with and destroys tarnish.
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George Maxwell
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