Gold parting of the salt cementation process. This mixture is then added to an earthenware pot and layered with thin sheets of gold fold. The pot is then sealed and heated in a furnace. It was during the medieval period that distillation was discovered and the first description of nitric acid production was given by Pseudo-Geber in the "Summa perfectionis", 1330. Nitric acid is able to dissolve silver. The addition of sal ammoniac to nitric acid creates Aqua regia and this acid is able to dissolve gold. Both acids are used in the acid method of parting but the acids were expensive
Acid Acid-base conjugate pairs differ by one proton, and can be interconverted by the addition or removal of a proton (protonation and deprotonation, respectively). Note that the acid can be the charged species and the conjugate base can be neutral in which case the generalized reaction scheme could be written as HA H + A. In solution there exists an equilibrium between the acid and its conjugate base. The equilibrium constant "K" is an expression of the equilibrium concentrations of the molecules or the ions in solution. Brackets indicate concentration, such that [HO] means "the concentration of HO". The acid dissociation