Nitric acid gold purity. Being a powerful oxidizing agent, nitric acid reacts violently with many non-metallic compounds, and the reactions may be explosive. Depending on the acid concentration, temperature and the reducing agent involved, the end products can be variable. Reaction takes place with all metals except the noble metals series and certain alloys. As a general rule, oxidizing reactions occur primarily with the concentrated acid, favoring the formation of nitrogen dioxide (NO). However, the powerful oxidizing properties of nitric acid are thermodynamic in nature, but sometimes its oxidation reactions are rather kinetically non-favored. The presence of small amounts of nitrous acid
Acid–base imbalance Any combination is possible, as metabolic acidosis and alkalosis can co exist together. The traditional approach to the study of acid–base physiology has been the empirical approach. The main variants are the base excess approach and the bicarbonate approach. The quantitative approach introduced by Peter A Stewart in 1978 is newer. There are numerous reasons that each of the four processes can occur (detailed in each article). Generally speaking, sources of acid gain include: Sources of acid loss include: The body's acid–base balance is tightly regulated. Several buffering agents exist which reversibly bind hydrogen ions and impede any change in