# What chemicals will completely dissolve a human body, in about ten seconds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696 "2014-08-03T04:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/1 "2014-08-03T04:49:55Z")
…and I’m going to need the answer rather fast. Just kidding, of course. About that last part. This is actually a movie-related question—about 1973’s _Frankenstein: The True Story_. If you’ve seen it, at one point, an unfortunate fellow is dumped into a vat of unnamed liquid, and completely dissolved in about ten seconds. (Onscreen. I timed it.) Now I have to admit, to my shame, chemistry is not my strongest suit. Much less the specific field of rapidly dissolving things. So, as I know that I know nothing, I’m forced to ask: what (if any) chemical or chemical mixture could dissolve a human body in that amount of time? And could you safely keep it in an uncovered decorative glass case in a really poorly ventilated room? And, for a bonus question, the "acid"s potency is demonstrated a minute or two earlier by someone dipping a metal mallet into a jar of (apparently) the same stuff, which also dissolves the hammer’s head into goo in just a few seconds. Could that, realistically, be done by the same chemical that would quickly dissolve the hundred-plus pounds of meat? ETA: And, er, no, for the record, I’m not planning on melting anyone or anything, nor do I want to know where to _get_ said agents to melt people or things. I don’t lead anything _close_ to that interesting a life. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/2 "2014-08-03T04:52:14Z")
[Molten lava?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq7DDk8eLs8) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/3 "2014-08-03T04:59:42Z")
nothing would likely do it that way. things that would react quickly would do more than bubble but splatter wildly. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/4 "2014-08-03T10:26:55Z")
How about [FOOF](http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride.php)? I’m assuming the vat is cooled, of course. And you are several miles distant! ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/5 "2014-08-03T12:07:21Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > nothing would likely do it that way. things that would react quickly would do more than bubble but splatter wildly. A piranha bath will do it, but with plenty of splatter. I have it on good authority that small creatures have been sacrificed to the chemistry gods this way. > **[Piranha solution](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piranha_solution)** > > Piranha solution, also known as piranha etch, is a mixture of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The resulting mixture is used to clean organic residues off substrates, for example silicon wafers. Because the mixture is a strong oxidizing agent, it will decompose most organic matter, and it will also hydroxylate most surfaces (by adding –OH groups), making them highly hydrophilic (water-compatible). This means the solution can also easily dissolve fabric and skin, potentially Ma... ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/6 "2014-08-03T12:10:30Z")
The splatter is because pretty much every carbon atom is ending up in a molecule of CO[sub]2[/sub]. That’s a lot of gas. And the exothermic reaction boils any water present. Most of us would probably call the result an explosion. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/7 "2014-08-03T14:36:10Z")
Short answer - there are no chemicals that would work in ten seconds, ten minutes, or probably even ten hours to “completely” dissolve a human body. Unless the Illuminati or NSA have something we’ve never heard of. :eek: There was a British murderer back in the 1940s ([John Haigh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_George_Haigh)) who disposed of his victims in concentrated sulfuric acid. However, a forensic pathologist searching the premises where Haigh “dissolved” the bodies found gallstones tying him to one of the murders. So even if you had an acid or such that’d work rapidly, there’s still the matter of indigestible parts or implants that might remain. ---
**Author:** ![Polar\_Iceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Polar\_Iceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polar_Iceman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/8 "2014-08-03T14:58:42Z")
Not to go into too great detail, but many years ago I was involved in the decommissioning of a chlor-alkali plant. When we had finished draining one of the holding tanks, we found a complete skeleton on the bottom. The flesh had been stripped clean, but the bones were still in pretty good condition. No idea how long it had been in there, or how long it had taken for the flesh to be stripped. One of life’s mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/9 "2014-08-03T15:17:00Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > The splatter is because pretty much every carbon atom is ending up in a molecule of CO[sub]2[/sub]. That’s a lot of gas. And the exothermic reaction boils any water present. > > Most of us would probably call the result an explosion. The question is whether a human body or hammer head would _ **dissolve** _. That’s a specific type of phenomena and as such, the answer is no. There’s no chemical that will bring all the various molecules of a human body into solution. If you just need to be rid of a human body in ten seconds, try 10 kgs of plutonium at supercriticality. Please be safe. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/10 "2014-08-03T15:30:21Z")
Antimatter ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/11 "2014-08-03T15:58:48Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > The question is whether a human body or hammer head would _ **dissolve** _. That’s a specific type of phenomena and as such, the answer is no. There’s no chemical that will bring all the various molecules of a human body into solution. Well, some of it dissolves. I’m not going to check the solubility of carbon dioxide in hot piranha. But yes, dissolution, in it’s proper sense, is not going to happen. And I’m just assuming the bones and teeth are sufficiently reactive. Anyone have a chicken wing and a lab? I’ve been relegated to desk duty. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/12 "2014-08-03T16:11:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Antimatter True. But the explosion would equal something like 200,000 nuclear bombs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/13 "2014-08-03T16:15:06Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > True. But the explosion would equal something like 200,000 nuclear bombs. He didn’t specify that he wanted it to be neat and clean. Antimatter spatters worse than sulfuric acid. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/14 "2014-08-03T16:19:05Z")
I’d rather explain to my wife why I exploded 200,000 nuclear bombs than have to explain what happened to her mother. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/15 "2014-08-03T16:26:21Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > And, for a bonus question, the "acid"s potency is demonstrated a minute or two earlier by someone dipping a metal mallet into a jar of (apparently) the same stuff, which also dissolves the hammer’s head into goo in just a few seconds. Could that, realistically, be done by the same chemical that would quickly dissolve the hundred-plus pounds of meat? When an acid dissolves a metal, the metal isn’t turned into goo, it’s dissolved into the acid, exactly the same way that a tablespoon of salt is dissolved into a glass of water. And it’s actually much easier to dissolve metals with acid than it is flesh; metals are the easiest things to dissolve with acids. The only way that a gooey substance would be left behind is if the mallet maybe had some kind of plastic components. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/16 "2014-08-03T16:30:46Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > When an acid dissolves a metal, the metal isn’t turned into goo, it’s dissolved into the acid, exactly the same way that a tablespoon of salt is dissolved into a glass of water. And it’s actually much easier to dissolve metals with acid than it is flesh; metals are the easiest things to dissolve with acids. The only way that a gooey substance would be left behind is if the mallet maybe had some kind of plastic components. It’s exactly not the same. There is a reaction between the metal and the acid, which typically results in a soluble metal cation and hydrogen gas. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/17 "2014-08-03T16:38:34Z")
Fe + 2HCl → FeCl[sub]2[/sub] + H[sub]2 [/sub] Put the cigarette out before you start. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/18 "2014-08-03T17:20:16Z")
I don’t think we should take the word “dissolve” literally, in the OP. He’s not asking about dissolution specifically; he’s asking about any sort of reaction which results in the solid dipped in the liquid being liquified. But given that it did the same for a human body and a hammerhead, it’s going to be difficult to come up with anything. There are some substances which will quickly eat away metal, and there are some which will quickly eat away organic material, but they tend to be very different substances. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/19 "2014-08-03T18:24:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > … he’s asking about any sort of reaction which results in the solid dipped in the liquid being liquified. That leaves out the plutonium and anti-matter ideas … those would produce something other than a liquid. If we wanted this not to be traced, we’ll need something that completely destroys the genetic material. Last thing we need is our mother-in-law’s DNA showing up in our cattle feed. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696/20 "2014-08-03T18:58:42Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > How about [FOOF](http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride.php)? Thank you. That link led to [Lateral Science: Galvanic Experiments on the Dead Body of a Criminal, Artificial Volcano, etc., etc.](http://lateralscience.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/galvanic-experiments-on-dead-body-of.html) which led to [The Young Man’s Book of Amusement](http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Young_Man_s_Book_of_Amusement.html?id=X2FLAAAAYAAJ), of which Google Books says, “Classic Victorian shenanigans. If its in this book, you probably don’t want to try it at home. Makes for good reading,” and Boing-Boing says, “From the title of this Victorian science book it’s not out of line to assume that there might be at least a few DIY methods for accidentally electrocuting yourself, but that’s just the beginning.” Scientific horseplay with an emphasis on blowing shit up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-chemicals-will-completely-dissolve-a-human-body-in-about-ten-seconds/694696.md?page=2)