Acid test (gold) mark is tested by applying aqua fortis (nitric acid), which dissolves the mark of any item that is not gold. If the mark remains, it is tested by applying aqua regia (nitric acid and hydrochloric acid). If the mark is removed, then this test dissolves the gold, proving the item to be genuine gold. More accurate testing of the item for its fineness or purity can be done through the use of differing strengths of aqua regia and comparative testing of gold items of known fineness. The figurative meaning of the expression, where it is applied to tests of character,
Acid–base reaction from an acid produces its "conjugate base", which is the acid with a hydrogen ion removed. The reception of a proton by a base produces its "conjugate acid", which is the base with a hydrogen ion added. Unlike the previous definitions, the Brønsted–Lowry definition does not refer to the formation of salt and solvent, but instead to the formation of "conjugate acids" and "conjugate bases", produced by the transfer of a proton from the acid to the base. In this approach, acids and bases are fundamentally different in behavior from salts, which are seen as electrolytes, subject to the theories