[sharxbyte]

I'm a Biomedical engineering major, and so I actually have actually witnessed silver nitrate reacting with copper, but today I witnessed an interesting reaction on myself.

I use a cane with a bronze head, and so I have a regular green tinge on parts of my palm which come in cintact with the cane and I'm sure there are less noticeable, albiet still present traces of copper on other areas of my hand.

Today I reapplied silver nitrate caustic pencil to  two warts on my  abductor pollocis brevis (the large palm muscle which moves your thumb) area, and instead of turning the characteristic black color I'm used to seeing, the area which the pencil contacted turned metallic silver. I'm intrigued, and I believe that the copper from the cane  must have reacted with the aqueous silver nitrate to effectively plate my palm with silver.


This is mostly just informational and because I thought it was interesting, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

[Hunter2]

Crazy experiments you do. Probably dying in 30-40 years to cancer.

[mjc123]

Gives a new twist to "cross my palm with silver..." Don't think the fortune teller would appreciate caustic pencil, though.

[Arkcon]

Impressive.  I wouldn't have seen that one coming.  Hard to believe you got enough copper adsorbed to your skin to shield the silver salts from your skin proteins own reducing power, and get silver metal instead of the black or purple of the finely divided reduced silver.  Someday, I'll have to look up just how much copper is demonstratively extracted from solid onto skin.

[pgk]

Green color means copper salts that they cannot reduce silver nitrate. However, it is possible that bronze microparticles have migrated from the bronze cane on to the skin during prolonged contact and use, due to weak but repeated and permanent abrasion forces. These bronze microparticles are captured and adhered on the skin wrinkles and folds and they are melted and locally concentrated during the application of the silver nitrate caustic pencil and thus, they produced the silver reduction.
Please, note that metal microparticles that are captured and adhered in the skin wrinkles and folds, cannot easily be removed by soap and water washings because they are not water soluble.
Please also, note that the bronze microparticles that are captured and adhered in the skin wrinkles and folds, can also produce the green color by sweat corrosion of the metallic and/or alloyed copper.