lemon juice
Those tart little lemons work to remove copper oxide because they contain citric acid. Since lemon juice has the highest concentration of citric acid of any fruit, it works the best. Other juices that rank highly include lime, grapefruit, and orange juice.
How does apple juice clean pennies?
Pennies naturally tarnish, not rust, over time and the acid in juice can help to clean the tarnish off.
Why does Coke clean pennies so well?
Coke contains phosphoric acid that cleans the oxides. Try a variety of citrus juices to see which works best or simply let your pennies soak in lemon juice. Citric acid works similarly to the other acids.
What happens when you put a dirty penny in lemon juice?
The citric acid in the lemon juice reacts with the copper oxide coating on the outside of the penny and removes the coating. As a result, the original copper coating underneath can be seen, looking clean and shiny.
Will Coke dissolve a penny?
Theoretically, yes, it will dissolve a penny, if you left it in for YEARS, and kept replenishing the Coke with fresh Coke. PENNIES ARE MADE OF COPPER, WHICH WILL DISSOLVE IN THE PRESENCE OF ACID, ONE OF THE MAIN INGREDIENTS IN ALL SODA IS PHOSPHORIC ACID. THE pH of soda is quite low, due to the phosphoric acid content.
Which is the best beverage to clean pennies best?
Apple juice. Sit overnight in a jar; your penny will be clean the next day you look at it when you take it out. ! Okay then, on this page we have claims that lemon juice is best, that coke is best; that tomato juice works well, and that apple juice is best.
How does acid and salt work to clean a penny?
As we have seen experimentally, acid alone does not clean as well as acid and salt. It appears, the salt breaks down somewhat, freeing chlorine ions into the solution. The chlorine ions bond with the copper in solution forming some sort of copper chloride, allowing the acid to break more of the copper oxide free from the penny.
What makes the inside of a penny Dirty?
The oxygen in the air and the copper in the pennies form an oxide that coats the pennies and makes them look dirty. The acids (usually vinegar – acetic acid) break the copper oxide free from the penny.
Which is better for pennies orange juice or water?
I think orange juice will clean a penny better than any other drink. Why, because it is very healthy and has more vitamins in it than any other drink. Hi, Candance. It’s time for you to run an experiment and find out. Science is about determining how things actually are as opposed to how we think they should be.
