How Acidic is the Xenomorph Blood from ALIEN? (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)

[@Helman114]

Who gave a science book to Thor?

[@nicholasgoodfellow5774]

ikr

[@somebalance8078]

+Joyde XD I thought the same thing

[@frankfurhter]

Who gave Nigel Brown the balls the question Thornton?

[@frankfurhter]

+TheTrojanToaster *Thor

[@piggyoinkoink6352]

Science + Fabio = Kyle

[@katherinestives940]

Just a note, but in the book 'Alien' the creature doesn't have actual blood of acid. It has a double exoskeleton structure with a layer of pressurized acid in-between the layers. It is pressurized so that any puncture of the outer skin causes the acid to spray over whatever caused the wound. Didn't know if y'all were aware of that. Oh, and great video, Kyle. Much thanks. =)

[@Thane36425]

+Katherine StIves That's too complicated for a typical movie audience to follow. The other way all they have to say is "acid for blood" and move on.

[@pizzaface117]

+Thane36425 Because people can be stupid

[@mattm7798]

Hmmm, so the acid is a defense mechanism. Question then is if you successfully stab the alien, the acid would have a chance to leak into potentially non protected parts of the alien's body. In short, it is a really really good thing these things do not really exist.

[@linuxtuxvolds5917]

So What would the pH be of xenomorph blood?

[@Puppy_Puppington]

@@linuxtuxvolds5917did u not watch the video

[@10191927]

Here's a more condensed explanation if you're interested. The Xenomorph is a bio-organic silicon based life form, silicon is resistant to acid. The Xenomorph in its face hugger state to its mature state has a vascular system similar to how our stomachs keeping the acid in check within a closed system. Because it's so highly acidic, it provides all of the nutrients for the Xenomorph to survive in the harshest of environments, no need for food or water, only a need for propagating its species, as said in the first movie it's perfection is matched only by its hostility. Hope that clears it up.

[@EvilParagon2]

Silicon based life is rather odd. Theoretically they should come from planets where the sea is sulphur and the air is ammonia. Sounds rather toxic and hot to live there.

[@spankeyfish]

Evil Paragon 2 volcanic hot springs are toxic and rather hot unless you're a thermophilic bacterium

[@EvilParagon2]

spankeyfish Technically they're not bacteria, they're Extremophiles, they're their own category.

[@spankeyfish]

I stand corrected.

[@johannsigursson5319]

Sorry, but no. An extremophile is an organism that thrives in extreme conditions. There are extremophilic bacteria and extremophilic archaea but extremophile is just a descriptive term, not a domain of organisms.

[@M.T....]

Thanks Science Thor.

[@randomstudios4775]

Avalon Run hahahaha

[@Tentegen]

Avalon Run thank you. this is my first video from this channel. He shall now be hence forth known as Science Thor and I am subscribing because of this. *AND FOR FKKKIN SCIENCE!!!!*

[@gregorygreenwood-nimmo4954]

Any person who watches these videos, should they prove worthy, shall wield the power of Science Thor...

[@ToxicSkull0]

Avalon Run LMAO

[@brianlau9174]

Wow, that "Xeno pH" joke was really clever

[@brianlau9174]

Xenomor pH*

[@joshyzburton1458]

It really wasn't.

[@tylerpeters6272]

Stfu god, you're not even real.

[@DRlyft]

Tyler Peters finally someone who is smart

[@anonb4632]

Brian Lau Xenomo Ph

[@Nerdist]

Hey everyone, thanks for catching my small mistakes this week. To try to keep the show feeling conversational, I often riff off from what I've written, which leads to mistakes here and there. Thanks for keeping me honest and on my toes. -- KH

[@abdullanaser3859]

Just a minor detail, normal range of blood is 7.35 to 7.45, anything less is automatically acidosis (cases aren't usually lower than 7.25), besides that, perfect. One thing I never got about the "molecular acid" blood of aliens was that if its blood was that reactive, it would basically be redundant as blood since it wouldn't be capable of releasing the oxygen into target tissue

[@wayneigoe6722]

Please do an episode on stuff from the Mass Effect Series.

[@theatheistpaladin]

+Nerdist You need to redo "why would a walker's bite kill" since now it has been established that walkers don't decay slowly because they are lacking in bacteria breaking them down.

[@katietuten7063]

+Abdulla Naser I was about to comment that about the pH of blood until I saw your comment. Glad I wasn't the only one that caught that.

[@thatsalargejpeg]

+Nerdist You guys have all the skills and means to do some sweet post-production, but don't use a mask for the bite (black solid?) into the glass beaker and don't overdub the slips? No offense. Seriously. I'm a long time subscriber and I love your show -- I just felt myself thinking these things while watching it :) It was a surprise to see so many corrections, sure (even more so because I usually turn annotations off) but it helps keep the show real. If it were *too* perfect than it wouldn't feel grassroots, which is a very appealing quality to all of Nerdist's videos! Keep up the good work, guys.

[@aliengoboom]

Man this is exactly what we are searching for months ! The explanation of alien blood :)

[@jamesrumsey]

It's as strong as the plot needs it to be.

[@ventomario3251]

yep. thays why Xenomorphs and their fans are stupid

[@aygwm]

Alien movies don't have plots...

[@aquamama8382]

Aaron Garcia Yes they do, you plebian.

[@notcreativename1285]

@@ventomario3251 what u said doesnt even make sense

[@blastech4095]

Stupid Xenomorphs!

[@bruhtown241]

this is way more interesting than normal science class

[@justanothergamer4688]

Thor is actually pretty smart

[@anoncrazynonevilgooddecent7631]

wad the fuk r u talkin bout

[@thraxironhide1674]

@@anoncrazynonevilgooddecent7631 he means that Kyle looks like thor

[@thraxironhide1674]

@MagnibusNANI?!?

[@digitaldeathsquid3448]

On the subject of the post-script about the mouth of a Moray Eel being like that of the Xenomorph, the Face-hugger/Chest-burster combo also has a real-life counterpart; the Tarantula Hawk Wasp. When a female wasp is finding a place to lay eggs, it will often use the still-living bodies of tarantulas, by stinging said tarantula with its paralyzing venom, then laying eggs in the wound. Once the eggs have fully gestated, the larvae hatch out and eat their way out of the tarantula. Also, it should be noted that Eric Schmidt went on a quest to test out various bug venoms to find out which one was the most painful, and the Tarantula Hawk Wasp's neuro-toxin was rated by Schmidt as being so painful, you won't even be able to think about anything else for the next 24 hours, and it tied for first place on his list with the Bullet Ant (the name being derived from its venom, the pain of which has been likened to being shot). You'll thank me for the nightmares later...

[@marionjohnson6491]

I really like this one. Do one about Predator's blood.

[@Nerdist]

+Marion Johnson Oh snap that's a great idea -- KH

[@marionjohnson6491]

***** I know right!

[@raysmalley8308]

copper based blood cells with a phosphorous bond

[@sandoval1968]

Ray Smalley then that would make the predators blood blue if it has more copper dude

[@sandoval1968]

Ray Smalley plus are blood has copper it's that people with more copper in their blood is blue but they both work the same way but for the lime green blood isn't explained

[@AifDaimon]

I didn't know there was something whose acidity went WAY BELOW ZERO.. Thanks for the info, Kyle.. I learned something new

[@expressrobkill]

its not ph

[@KainYusanagi]

For the record, pure sulphuric acid has a PH of -12, and anything with a lower PH is known as a superacid. Any PH below 0 is measured by an equation that simulates what its PH would be, because it doesn't necessarily mean the number of hydrogen ions compared to the rest of the molecules.

[@ianbabcock6802]

Xenomorph blood is one hell of a defense mechanism. One bite on it and half of your face is gone.

[@GamesfriendLP]

Fluroantimonicacid does have a pkA of -31,3 not ph thats a big difference, because the ph is the negative logarithem of the concentration if there would be a ph of -31,3 that would mean that there are 10^31,3 grams of H+ Ions in 1 liter of acid which is not possible, but still the lower the pkA the stronger the acid

[@matthewmaxwell-burton4549]

Killed me when he said HF was the strongest bond

[@shrikesavadithya6683]

Thanks bro. Also it has been theorised that we can go lower due to the ability to rip off other atoms using a strong enough deprotonating agent or protonating agent. Physics also has some say there. I have noticed a trend of people simply accepting grade school science and rolling with it when we can learn so much more. And also irganic chemist dude what about enthalpy. Anyone who deals with stoichiometry would be pissed. Not forgetting the guys who study enthalpy. May the strong force be with you

[@0x8badf00d]

Not grams, moles! Although, for hydrogen it's pretty accurate.

[@musashi939]

TheGamesfriend would it be better to say an equivalent hypothetical or "virtual" pH of - 31?

[@axjkalsok1058]

musashi939 No. That number describes the pkA not the pH. pkA is a static number that measures the acidity of a certain compound, whereas pH describes only describes the acidity of a specific solution, meaning it will fluctuate if you dilute or concentrate the solution in question. In other words, a compound has only one pkA value in the same way that it has only one value for density, but giving it one specific pH value would be like assigning it one specific temperature. Hope that clears things up.

[@kommentorpostker3911]

for some reason, know i feel the urge to see an over the top b-rated movie in which someone stabs other person in the stomach, and the gastric acid melts the guy who was stabbing wouldn't that be cool?

[@delamovies]

no

[@DuMacaco]

For some reason I want to see it to

[@Ysckemia]

+Kommentor Postker the only movie i know where there's a reference of gastric acid is in "Saw". when the cops are investigating on the first murder, they found that the guy lacerated himself on barbwire so deeply that the barbwire entered in contact with gastric acid.

[@PandaBearWithMic]

You don't hold gastric acid in you stomach like in a bowl... it's generated by the stomach wall and being mixed with food you ate. You don't need much of the acid to digest food, so it's never the case that you have like a lot of acid in you stomach and food just floating in that.

[@the_infinexos]

PandaBearWithMic Ohhhh for years I thought it was like that.. holy fuck

[@krissisk4163]

"Xenomorph mouths are totally real" is quite possibly the most terrifying thing I've heard in months.

[@selenagamya1612]

Look up videos of goblin sharks and prepare to be terrified

[@Anon26535]

Also moray eels. When its mouth opens wide There's one more mouth inside That's a moray!

[@GringatTheRepugnant]

I think sticking to chemistry here was a bad move. If they're living creatures, their blood need not be acidic at all! it could be packed with all sorts of enzymes, cells, nanomachines or what have you that can eat through metal. They could even recognise different chemicals on contact and decide whether or not to eat through them. Scarier still, acids react and get used up as they corrode something. Enzymes don't. A single little molecule can go around and do its thing over and over and over again until it runs out of energy.

[@tibinicle]

love your picture

[@renehollan7695]

tibinicle

[@deathserpent9747]

I didn't even think of enzymes being in a xenomorph's blood.

[@tchamim]

He could really be a good chemistry teacher. Love how he explain it.

[@nosuchthingasshould4175]

So, you can write backwards as easily as regular. Impressive.

[@kurisutofa1]

+nosuch thingasshould ikr

[@lookatthebirdie]

+nosuch thingasshould Or the video is flipped...

[@nosuchthingasshould4175]

Witchcraft!!!!

[@randomentity6553]

Watch the bends in his pocket flaps...... :)

[@hanzelfry]

watch his brown (necklace, i think). it flips sides

[@Dantick09]

So blow up aliens with water? :/

[@AnimalAce]

+Dantick09 So we need to hug the aliens.....love can settle anything xD

[@AnimalAce]

+AnimalAce you because we're like.....water.

[@derptomistic]

The aliens have the same weakness as the Wicked Witch of the West...

[@b_08_amitkumarsahu90]

😂

[@SomalianDuke]

AnimalAce Well, you wouldn't even need to hug it. Just spit on that damn thing!

[@hf3923]

Anyone else know pH 8-14 as Alkali?

[@ethansheehan1002]

Yup.

[@darkhallow3313]

ye i was confused when he said base and basic

[@philpotsly]

An alkali is just a base that dissolves in water.

[@ExBruinsFan]

+Harry Forsyth Since I used to keep tropical fish, yes. "Bases" never sounds right to me.

[@philipfahy3589]

This can be somewhat misleading however, as alkalinity and basicity aren't precisely the same thing. Normally it doesn't really matter, but in select situations, the distinction is important. Also alkali is the name of an elemental group, so all in all, base is a much more clear name for pH >7.

[@EzeICE]

"game over man, game over" nice touch hahahaha

[@DrKosmos]

5:35 Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) is carbon and fluorine in a long chain. Just nitpicking, but good job.

[@ChesterZirawin]

"And you would be straight up dead" he says with a smile on his face...

[@herewaso]

Still not as acidic as Leafy's comments section...

[@dynomite463]

You mean toxic. Hisss kys #Niceshirt Pinecone

[@phantom3252]

Id agree with but you said acidic not toxic.

[@whiterunguard7109]

+Pear Rahna bash my head with a fucking rock!

[@TheMastreek]

#niceshirt

[@Coolkidkarateman]

that's why I don't comment. lol.

[@iFireRonin]

if you cut Kyle's hair, does he lose his brilliance? BECAUSE SCIENCE

[@rurutuM]

+Fire Ronin you have to get the curtains as well as the carpet, front and back.

[@DemonYaz]

because science has to be one of my favorite web videos.. keep em coming!

[@Nerdist]

+Rocksteady2090 Thank you so much! -- KH

[@apdarkness905]

From what I've read about the Xenomorph, this creature apparently has a body structure made up of polarised silicon, which is quite hard and resistant to pretty most things, but I'm not quite certain how it would keep the Xenomorph's blood from melting through its body.

[@JonathanRossRogers]

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is not known as "bleach." The chemical compound typically called "bleach" is sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) and is neither an acid nor base, but a salt.

[@metamorphicorder]

Jonathan Rogers no bleach is to sodium hypochlorite as vinegar is to acetic acid. Bleach is solution made of SH and water just lile vinegar is a solution of acetic acid and water to an specific concentration. Vinegar is 5% AA and 95 water for white distilled vinegar. Horticultural vinegar used for sterilizing soil to kill hard to kill plants is 20% acetic acid and 80% water. It will make soil uninhabitable for pretty much any plant until the ph is brought up to something reasonable. Pure acetic acid could probably burn you pretty decently. Spill bleach on your hand and it feels a little funny, and kinda slippery. Let it sit for a minute or two and you might have some tingles and some discoloration and some eventual desication and sloughing of the skin in the effected area, nothing major pure sodium hypochlorite on your skin however wouldnt take minutes to have an effect it would be pretty quick and pretty nasty. One is a compound and one is a mixture. Not the same thing. Related but not the same. And neither are sodium hydroxide. Which you are correct is called lye. And thats different because its a common name for a pure compound. Edit, bleach, the mixture of SH and water is an alkaline solution. So bleach is a base.

[@aliasv6964]

DON'T THINK WE DIDN'T SEE THAT SNEAKY pH at the end of XenomorpH!!!! What a base joke!

[@corvuscallosum5079]

Not that I don't appreciate it, but you have quite the acid tongue! (And that's no lye.)

[@halomaster2137]

Fayt Vandeberg *Basic

[@tapramen30]

So, what you're saying is, we couldn't make, let alone eat, Xenomorph blood sausage. Thanks SCIENCE!

[@ItsThatMilkshake]

lol he said acids instead of bases donating an OH-

[@Nerdist]

+ItsThatMilkshake DAMNIT. Fixing now. That's what I get for being sans prompter. -- KH

[@Nicoleannify]

+Nerdist Jake the Dogs elasticity

[@JaftenLKA]

+Nerdist ...Yeah, I looked into this already. *Unfortunately for your conjecture, fluorine-based acids are a no-go.* As it just so happens to have turned out, xenomorphs are _canonically_ very susceptible to hydrofluoric acid. In the novel _Alien: Out of the Shadows,_ miners armed themselves with chemical sprayers filled with a hydrogen fluoride solution to combat the xenomorphs to great effect. I think we can both agree that it would make very little sense for xenomorphs to have blood that is a solution of fluoroantimonic acid in a hydrogen fluoride liquid, and yet for them to be so weak to hydrofluoric acid that they could be defeated by hydrofluoric acid chemical sprayers. Also, it's "fluoroantimonic" not "fluroantimonic". Sorry if that seems anal, I just made it a point to remember the spelling of "fluorine" since I kept getting it wrong, and now I immediately notice when it's misspelled.

[@lolglolblol]

JaftenLKA i remember no canon source that put xenos against acid, though. And the novels, comics and most of the games aren't canon

[@JaftenLKA]

The novels are considered secondary canon. Comics I'm not sure about. Games, for the most part, are not.

[@Shard1770]

Just came across this and its so cool, and found out that the reason they have acid in their body is because it has so much energy it lets them grow up way faster which is why it usually only takes a few hours for a chest burster to fully mature and it also is used as a defense mechanism too as when they get damaged the acid usually will spray out to harm/kill whatever hurt them. They are probably the most perfect organism in terms of survival and intelligence

[@Hanayuni]

When he explained the effects of Hf and ended with " and you'd be straight up dead! * chuckles * ", right there, I did die.

[@DemitriVladMaximov]

Nice work, though a few things are missing from this vid. First is that Bishop clearly stated that the acid was a concentrated sulfuric acid while looking over the medical documents at Hadley's Hope. Is there an explanation for this assessment? Also exposure to Xeno blood is not a guaranteed death as you have stated with fluridic acids since Hicks was sprayed and survived...though with scars from the event.

[@shafismaili1347]

Bishop was known to speculate. He predicted the Queen (or something like her) with little basis. The Xenos could have had some other means of producing eggs.

[@steprockmedia]

Nice! Over-analyzing movies and sci-fi is fun, isn't it? I'll watch more of your vids, for sure. (BTW, I figured out your camera trick! You write on glass so you can see what you're doing, but flip the video so we can see it. You are left-handed in the vid, but at the end the printed paper is held in your right and your shirt buttons on the other side. Very clever.)

[@tannergray9134]

what if the Fluorantimonic acid was held in a secondary membrane around the arteries/veins/capillaries. This would give the acidic blood effect when punctured, and allow them to have semi normal blood.

[@mrdavman13]

In the book that is pretty much what actually is happening in the aliens/facehuggers. They have two layers of silicone based skin. The outer layer has a gap filled with pressurized acid, and then the next layer of skin and that is the actual organs/ blood. But if the top layer is punctured it will spray out the super acid on whatever punctured it. So they don’t actually have acid blood but a layer of it surrounding the inner layer of its skin.

[@indyspotes3310]

The first question should be "Does a xenomorph have blood?" It strikes me as more of a hemolymphic system like that found in insects. Besides, having incredibly acidic blood/hemolymph isn't the scientific quandary. The real quandary would be that anything beneficial it could transport would be destroyed almost immediately, making such a system pointless

[@basteagui]

unless it is mixing it with water inside the cell and powering the biological processes through the tiny explosions/reactions

[@basteagui]

so the "blood" only transports acid itself. it is then mixed with a molecule of water inside of the mitochondria, the resulting chemical reaction provides the electrical impulses that drive the creature. but why would it need to eat?

[@basteagui]

well that last one is not important because the creature is heavily hinted in the lore to be artificially engineered

[@mr.not.so.perfect.666]

One thing a lot of people don't know about Hydrofluoric acid is that it is produced when Vehicles are subject to High temperatures, as in Fires, and it comes from the O-rings and Rubbers within an engine bay, so with that in mind be extremely careful if you plan to salvage any engine parts from within an car that has had fire damage in its engine bay. In some cases when this acid gets on your skin the limb its in contact with may need to be amputated as there is no easy way of neutralising it, it literally eats through your skin, bone, tissue etc like Alien blood.

[@RelativelyBest]

If you think moray eels have weird jaws, look up goblin sharks. Those things are insanely freaky.

[@FuKItM4n]

You never answered the question of the title though.

[@finvoltaire3803]

Yes he did, the acidity is 31.3 on the pH scale.

[@gen3_gaming]

GamingMeerkat -31.3

[@finvoltaire3803]

+Generic Gamer Right you are, I do apologise for my mistake. Well spotted :)

[@murtog1]

so did they use acetone on styrofoam for the vfx in the original film?

[@DeadChannel939]

You word this weirdly, as if the strongest acid we know is unable to eat through metal, and that no others can. Hydroflouric(possibly, as the host says) eats through metal, and hydrochloric acid is well known for eating through metal too. But yeah, I agree, he didn't answer the question posed in the title of the video, he only says the PH level of a few acids including Hydrofluoric and Fluroantimonic acid.

[@TheChainsaw105]

moral of the story: if you want to de-atomize someone, you'd better get to creating Fluorine-based weaponry

[@ItsShatter]

One other way to make a blood/ liquid that melted through flesh and bones would be a mix of detergents and proteinase enzymes. The detergent would break apart lipid bilayer of cells and the proteinases would melt away any protein. You might need some collagenase for bones too.

[@headshot992]

From looking at the thumbnail, I was hoping you'd talk about Fluroantimonic Acid. That stuff is so fascinating

[@Electroblud]

You forgot to credit PeriodicVideos for the HF clips.

[@violetvulpine5356]

Check the description

[@Electroblud]

Whoops. Never mind then. My bad xD

[@ThePaintballgun]

The problem with Hydrofluoric acid is that it is essentially so strong that it makes itself weak again.

[@adamcolon]

+Don't Even Bother what?

[@ThePaintballgun]

Adam Colon(this is to the best of my knowledge don't quote me) It is not incredibly well understood how HF reacts in water, but one of the proposed mechanisms is that after the HF dissociates in water, and undergoes the usual acid reaction, the incredibly high electronegativity of the atoms in the anion [negative ion] (which is normally part of what makes an acid stronger) means that there is a strong attraction between the [F-] and [H3O+] ions in solution, greatly reducing the amount of "free" [H3O+], thereby making it a weak acid. It should be noted that this mechanism is disputed by some. Some people think it has to do with thermodynamics, but I don't know too much about that or which one is better or worse.

[@elithradril]

+Mike Gregor Electronegativity is the attraction of an atom towards Electrons, not protons. The attraction of H+ and F- is equally strong as H+ and Cl- or any other single negative ion. It is the attraction of one positive charge and one negative charge. It is actually due to electronegativity that the bond between the H and the F is so easily broken, and the reason why it is such a strong acid.

[@ThePaintballgun]

Ben Sommen I am aware what electronegativity is. Generally, a higher electronegativity in the anion means a stronger acid, however hydrofluoric acid isn't classified as a strong acid in terms of chemistry and that is one of the mechanisms proposed by my fairly current university chemistry textbook discusses.

[@elithradril]

But it doesn't make sense. How can electronegativity cause attraction to protons? The only thing attracting protons in this case is the negative charge of the electron. Maybe it has something to do with the small atom radius of Fluoride ions compared to other halogens, which increases the attraction between the 2 charges because they can get closer to eachother. (F = (Ke*q1*q2)/r². As r gets smaller, F gets larger)

[@TheGrandMasterTaco]

that starcraft broodwar hydralisk sound tho 1:38

[@hydralizk6631]

I heard it too! Its from starcraft 1, when you click on them too much!

[@ryanmanor918]

Best theory I can think of is there is a way they produce antimony as part of their cellular sturcture outside the veins. When a cut occurs the blood is mixed with other fluid and is in a reactive state as it melts through substances, causing more molecular instability from the flourine bonding.

[@artur19846]

My God, I wish this guy was my chemistry teacher back in school days! Within these 6 minutes, I learned more than in a year of the pathetic school.

[@TheDr00g]

we ll he forgot to mention the most important fact of the pH scale. It is logarithmic.

[@Ulrican414]

But can it melt steel beams? (I know it can, but it had to be asked).

[@trantrungnam612]

Jet fuel can though

[@Nerdist]

+Ulrican414 Here's the thing about this meme though: steel fails before it melts. A steel beam will fail -- deform under almost any force -- long before it melts. So, no, rocket fuel might not be able to melt steel beams, but it certainty can make them fail. There, go post this in all those Facebook threads. -- KH

[@niklasgransjen684]

+Nerdist But... But... Illuminati ._.

[@Ulrican414]

+Nerdist Thank you Kyle, i'll make sure to use this knowledge for evil.

[@YuThinkUrCool]

+Nerdist but the buildings were hit near the top, say the fuel deformed the steel and buckled under pressure near the top, is the collapsing weight enough to completely reduce both towers to rubble, in their own footprints? sure they wouldn't have deformed the steel a couple of stories down... to completely deform every level systematically? fire and heat don't just randomly deform systematically for such a perfect collapse.. and WHAT ABOUT building 7? no plane hit it so no jet fuel.. only debris from the towers. yet it was reduced to rubble in its footprint the same as the towers. check out the architects and engineers for 9/11 truth..

[@youtubesigmadepartment611]

“The most feared acid to man is Hydrofluoric Acid” Me: *realising that we use that in my science classes and how many countless times I’ve spilt it on myself*

[@NarutoUzumaki-jg4pw]

However acidic the plot needs it to be. The end.

[@PeteTheGrouch]

Fuck off Naruto - you're a disgrace to ninjas everywhere... Plus, your shitty anime has more plot holes than the entire Aliens franchise combined; so, you needn't talk!

[@NarutoUzumaki-jg4pw]

PeteTheGrouch There is no need to be upset.

[@DarknessEmpireLeader626]

+PeteTheGrouch *Alien

[@roudman6467]

Naruto Uzumaki he is right thoe

[@saxtonturner2240]

People who say shit like that are no fun and are clearly missing the point

[@forgetitforever]

I used this video last semester with my Chemistry class. The students really liked it. They didn't even realize they were learning.

[@TheDr00g]

worth mentioning that pH scale is logarithmic, that means ph 2 is not double as "acidic" as pH 4 but 100 x. pH is defined as the negative decadic logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration.

[@pretendawatch]

I'm a fan of Nerdist, but I hope they got permission from KZbin's Periodic Video's for that meat and glass segment. Not even an acknowledgement...

[@Nerdist]

+Champagne Stegosaur Linked to in the show notes! -- KH

[@Templarfreak]

+Champagne Stegosaur It's transformative and therefore fair use, they're not stealing. Still is nice to post the links, but there's no legal need to.

[@RyanDB]

+Templarfreak That's debatable. For starters, it's not actually fair use until a judge rules that it is, but I'd also argue that this isn't exactly transformative, though obviously it's not my opinion which matters. The point of the original video is basically just "look what happens when we put this in HF", which is the same this it's used for here. That being said, I don't think that Nerdist did anything wrong here, since the video is linked in the description. I'd've liked to see something in the video pointing to the description, but that's probably just because the need to references sources has been drilled into me :P

[@elgato9o]

+Ryan Barr why the fuck do you care

[@AndrooUK]

+elgato9o Why the fuck do you care if he cares?

[@aPIMPnameMOS3S]

why is kid Rock teaching us science from sci-fi horror movies?

[@ronald4life1]

+aPIMP nameMOSES You mean Thor

[@jimbobhk2009]

+ronald4life1 more like James Hetfield lol

[@baartenkaas]

Thur.

[@victoriashevlin8587]

+baartenkaas hahaha, love this:)

[@BANE616]

+aPIMP nameMOSES "Because science".. you dunce!

[@tessajalloh3914]

Never heard alkalis referred to as basics before. o.o you had me quite confused.

[@mcgrawnelson4722]

it is basic. a base is basic. its common in english or at least american english

[@NorthernSeaWitch]

No. Acid and base, acids are acidic and bases are basic. Please follow the proper suffix syntax.

[@zhiyongchu1293]

Alkali are bases that are able to dissolve in water

[@weldonspivey5708]

You're all wrong. White girls are basic, and FNAF fans are acidic. Come on, guys. It's common knowledge.

[@970357ers]

The teflon vein idea ties-in well with the 'engineered by David' line the prequels is going down.

[@anklescooter]

How do their cells survive in that blood? Or do they have a separate circulatory system that looks like an insect’s? (That would explain it)

[@minnion2871]

So... Wouldn't that mean that injecting a Xenomorph with water would make it explode?

[@DemonicEngineer]

yah but then we would have acid splatter everywere. So it is probably not a good idea to do it close to you or in a space ship

[@DemonicEngineer]

+Foxy Snipez true but If the ship has a hole in it, everyone dies

[@DemonicEngineer]

+Foxy Snipez it basically becomes a suicide mission

[@DemonicEngineer]

+Foxy Snipez clever. let's just hope you're on a planet and not a space ship

[@tolbryntheix4135]

Wouldnt freezing it be better, drop some liquid nitrogen on him and there shouldnt be any problem.

[@Axl_Ericsson]

fun fact: HF is not even considered to be a strong acid. It's a weak acid because of a definition I am too lazy to explain

[@studentnotes8]

It's okay. I got your back bro. So the reason is because strong acids and bases (as well as the weak ones) are defined by percentage dissociation. If I have an acid that dissociates 100% (completely), it is a a strong acid. If it does not dissociate completely, it is a weak acid. And it is the same for strong and weak bases. So causes the dissociation, then, is the electromagnetism of compound the H+ or OH- bonds to. If the electromagnetism is low, the compound tends to give up its H+ or OH- quite easily. However, if it is strong, as in HF, some of the F- will give up their H+ but will then regain them, and then give them up again and so on. This is how it goes and the solution eventually reaches equilibrium. What determines the electromagnetism of a compound is its atomic radius but everything close to F in the periodic table has a greater electromagnetism. F has the greatest. I believe that's all but feel free to add things I may have forgotten. And feel free to subscribe to my channel. I am quite new and talk about science on college level.

[@AngPur]

Basically pH to measure 'strength' of an acid or base is for relation to other acids/bases based on that chemistry. Corrosive elements are based on individual materials. HF eats through glass, but aqua regia (a mix of acids) cannot, but it can dissolve gold... Where as no other chemical can. So corrosive nature can't be universally measured on one scale. Generally extremes on the pH scale generate extreme reactions with stuff too... But a 'weak' acid could be super corrosive to flesh.

[@Callordin]

CF(3) is a significantly more scary substance, but it doesn't so much dissolve things as it....burns and explodes them.

[@TheRdfrota]

Glad you got this... I remember the same. That HF bond is so strong the water dipoles cannot break it as it would an HCl

[@honestlywhat6085]

"Acids cannot go below the pH of 0--" Me: yeah no bye

[@KaushikAdhikari]

No they can't . pH scale is made for dilute acids . For concentrated stuff Hammett acidity function is used ( -31 for fluroantimonic acid , -12 for concentrated sulphuric acid )

[@ims0deranged]

The HR Giger model of the Warrior Xenomorph & Facehugger are actually based of combinations of several dangerous species found on Earth. I believe the combination used for the hugger was spider, scorpion, octopus, squid, and a python ( for the choking tail).

[@ian1231100]

The closed captions are surprisingly accurate.

[@robpegler6545]

So if I came into contact with hydrofluoric acid, would I last 17 hours?

[@Nerdist]

+Rob Pegler Nope. An Australian scientist spilled a tiny bit on his legs and they had to be amputated then he died. Oof -- KH

[@Freki92]

+Rob Pegler Possibly. It depends on how concentrated it is. If it were a stock solution, then, no. However, if it had been diluted to a VERY low concentration, then yes. I actually work in a setting where we use a VERY dilute solution of hydrofluoric acid as a cleaning agent. It does sting when it comes into contact with mucous membrane (i.e. eyes, inside of nose, etc), however it will not noticeably damage skin unless allowed an extended dwell time.

[@roguecactus7]

+Nerdist so, you're saying that if you come into contact with hydroflouric acid, you'll more than likely be....AH DEAD!?

[@richcampoverde]

+roguecactus7 a 1mm drop would destroy your skin and bone and stop your heart

[@Mercutian506]

+Rob Pegler 17 hours? You wouldn't last 17 minutes!

[@Ben-fx9kx]

What if the blood isn't acidic and actually basic. Bases are far better at eating flesh than acid

[@Oddi0]

What about metal?

[@grouchychemist3913]

+ben zhong Bases cannot melt through metal. Weak bases will normally form an oxide layer with metals. I wrote a research paper on the liquefaction of flesh and bone through chemical means and saw that bases need a high temperature and pressure environment to be effective at dissolving flesh. A solution of 12M NaOH took several days to react with a chicken leg and only a thin layer of skin was dissolved. The rest of the meat became hardened due to saponification. 12M HCl, however, is much quicker at ripping apart flesh and bone. After two days of sitting in a room temperature solution of 12M HCl, the leg was nearly gone.

[@cadellvandenheuvel949]

+Grouchy Chemist I'm actually fairly certain that bases can react with certain metals. For example: sodium hydroxide will react readily with aluminum metal.

[@granziii12]

Watch Aliens again. It really wasn't that good at eating through flesh as opposed to metal.

[@emptyowl1768]

do predator weapons

[@Huvpalto]

+FixYourLevels kill people

[@SKy_the_Thunder]

+Alex Thomson I can assure you a blade to the throat can be pretty deadly.

[@Huvpalto]

SKy_the_Thunder not as deadly as AvP movies i guess

[@pandaath]

Predators are shit. No one cares about them.

[@sonicrising6614]

That was a fun video, of course science fiction is just that, fiction, but trying to explain that fiction with science is always intriguing. As a big fan of the Alien series, I just pictured the aliens circulatory system as being lined similarly to that of our own stomachs, they can not survive being covered in their own blood as was seen in Alien Resurrection, much like it would not be a good idea to cover our own skin in stomach acid...but more extreme.

[@viermidebutura]

a common trope in movies is that a small quantity of strong acid is enough to eat through miles of metal, this ignores the fact that the acid is consumed in the process and the fact that metal is much more dense than a liquid so acid spill scene from Alien would only make a small dent in the flood

[@amourslave]

host looks like odins middle child

[@YnseSchaap]

+Wander Lust That would be his second son, Loki was adopted

[@Sinfel133]

A minute of silence for those without basic chemistry education

[@tickleman9072]

Hey, I'm a kid.

[@drewfranz]

You forgot to credit Periodic Videos for the HF/Chicken video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZrTnKaIna6GnK8

[@Nerdist]

+Drew Franz Links in the show notes! -- KH

[@jamieleng1968]

Thank you skinny Thor, that was very informative.

[@antitheist3206]

Found this channel earlier today and I am HOOKED!

[@iliketrains0pwned]

I wonder how many stoners got into a fight over this today and came here looking for answers? XD

[@ummlol5986]

does batman have throat cancer

[@erevos217]

nature, you scary! O_O'

[@newrecru1t]

+Erevos Ever heard of natures scariest weapon? Spider rain and Banana Spiders.

[@zeekeno823]

+Dat Guy have you been to film theory?

[@newrecru1t]

first: do you know what a banana spider is? second: yes

[@zeekeno823]

Dat Guy Yes, I know what that demon is... SPIDER RAIN!

[@0099-j3t]

*Damn David you're scary ;)

[@BrianCooperpiece]

This video turned my frown upside down, thank you Nerdist!

[@Tengu125]

I half expected the alien blood pun at the start to be something like "Xenoglobin"

[@Vulgun]

But you didn't answer the question.

[@TheAngryMoth104]

+Vulgun the answer is "very"

[@goergecaproli1999]

+Vulgun I think the answer was less than zero

[@Clymaxx]

+Vulgun Whatever it is, it is absurd that an organic being could contain it.

[@iestynhall9998]

Am i the only one whos never heard of bases and instead calls it alkali, is bases an American thing?

[@joehollow2505]

yes

[@spankeyfish]

Iestyn HallXD base knowledge

[@rarebeeph1783]

I call them by both, but I learned alkali first. (I'm American)

[@ricoanderson6626]

bases is just a nickname we have for it.

[@Profilejc98]

An alkaline is essentially a type of base that is soluble in water. They're not the same thing, even if I was taught to use alkali at school and bases at college.

[@ChrisJohnson-pc3pd]

is he writing that stuff backwards and reverse so we can read it

[@ThatKid22101]

most likely flipped the image after recording.

[@PythianLygume]

I LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU ACTUALLY WRITE SEVENS CORRECTLY! Thank you!!!!!!!

[@christophernunez6802]

Cool addition to this video or comment section would be highlighting a unique animal or plant (reptiles, insects, sea life, plants, fungi etc.) on earth that is on an evolutionary strategy of intense liquid defense systems (besides venom and toxins) and an explanation of how its produced and used etc.

[@DJFallen213]

Here's a fun thought: What if the acid wasn't blood, but a fluid cushion for the inner portion of the body as well as equaling pressure to the exterior exoskeleton... completely separate from the circulatory system and maybe the exoskeleton is composed of an element/material that when it comes in contact with it (acid blood), it reacts with the acid and then does a scabbing effect and patches the hole. Also the acid in this case could actually be a byproduct of some organ that within the alien it's self.

[@CLAX1337]

It's really the concentration of H3O+ (hydronium cations) vs. the concentration of OH- anions... water ionizes easily. It's usually easier to see acids and bases as proportion of protonated water molecules. It's not literally protons interacting with you; protons immediately attach to polar water molecules... or, if a base is present, an additional proton might be ripped from the water.

[@MrDanAng1]

Normal pH level in human blood is between 7.35-7.45 and already at a pH level at 7.3 physicians would start to treat a patient, unless the cause is known and temporary, for example after a great effort when both lactic acid and carbon dioxide levels are high in your blood. As soon as a healthy human rest, the bodys capability to break down lactic acid and exhale carbon dioxide would correct the pH to around 7.4 within minutes.

[@drayux]

I'm curious as to the math they used to get an estimated pH of -31. The p in pH stands for -log and the H is the concentration of H+ ions. A logarithm is the inverse of an exponential function, and has a domain of (0,∞). By taking the limit as x approaches 0 from the positive side of log(x) (assuming a typical x, y plane) we approach -∞. This means that with a small enough number, any number less than infinity can be reached. [on mobile, I'll update this with my estimate]

[@BFCrusader]

I see you used a Starcraft Hydralisk sound for the "Xeno" gags. Fitting since Hydralisks are heavily inspired by them.

[@KartondonCoder]

You sir are quote "Science-ing the shit out of this" :D

[@misteryman526]

Blood provides necessary sustenance to the bodies cells. Could fluoroantimonic acid actually carry nutrients and oxygen? Maybe instead of acid blood, the xenomorphs have some sort of biological nanomachines circulating through their bodies that disassemble foreign matter. It would LOOK like acid melting stuff but it would actually be the molecules being broken down by the nanites.

[@KiviBraendle]

I'd like to see you sciencing on how strong the inner mouth of the Xenomoroph is. Since it easily breached through a fricken Predator HELMET which is made of alloy

[@ethandaknight]

one problem with this though... in the newer movies the xenomorphs blood is actually used to scar their killers as trophy signs. the predators within the pyramid movie had numerous scars using the aliens blood, they also marked the chick with the same symbol and she felt pain meaning that it cant be the same acid you describe.

[@Oisilky]

This makes the fact that they chose Giger to design the monster and it being biomechanical make even more sense.

[@promethanol4162]

Usually I would get I panic attack listening to this cuz I'm weird but this dudes humor makes it not as bad lmao.

[@moxie847]

"Most of your blood is water." Dude cured my fear of blood with a single sentence.

[@JungRich313]

This man explained basic chemistry to me better than my advanced chem teacher could all year.

[@zactompkins5785]

Looks like someone hasn't heard of the Bronsted-Lowry definition of acids and bases

[@GogiRegion]

I’m a hobby chemist (who really should use a real lab for the level of danger in her experiments), and just the word “Hydrofluoric Acid” made me shudder. That stuff is terrifying.