Acid test (gold)

Acid test (gold)

An acid test for gold was used during the the gold rush of the 1850s by gold seekers and gold traders to quickly and accurately test whether a given metal, excavated or found, was gold or a mere base metal.

The metal would be submerged in a strong acid. Unlike base metals, precious metals, including gold, do not corrode easily. Thus, base metals would begin to fizz or bubble when immersed in acid (most often nitric acid), while precious metals would remain unaffected. Hence, a clearly visible result is obtained on the spot, with no need for further testing. For these reasons, the acid test became the most popular way to test for gold, since it was decisive, immediate, cheap and simple to perform.

An analogy has since been drawn from this historical test to more modern quality tests, such as the three Acid tests (Acid1, Acid2 and Acid3) which are designed to test web browsers for compliance with current web standards. Since the end of the 19th century, "acid test" has been a colloquialism for a "sign of approval" or "verified" and "OKed" products.


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