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Does anyone know of a good example of two liquids mixing very exothermically? As a reference, I'm thinking more like NaOH and water boiling when mixed at room temperature than ethanol and water are exothermic but you'll never notice making a gin and tonic.

ericksonla
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    like sulfuric acid and water? –  Mar 28 '16 at 22:06
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    Not that I would do sulfuric acid and water except under very controlled situations. – Ben Norris Mar 28 '16 at 22:08
  • I have to do the safety shtick on this. Always add sulfuric acid to water. The reaction generates a lot of heat. It is not unsafe for a chemist, but caution and respect are required. Safety glasses should be worn, you should have a lab coat or apron, and rubber gloves would be a good idea. You should have access to a safety shower and an eyewash - just in case... // If you drop concentrated sulfuric acid on the floor be careful. It is very slippery. – MaxW Mar 28 '16 at 23:46
  • Yeah, like sulfuric acid and water! Thanks. As for safety, I don't want to do it, just looking for an upper bound for what reasonable enthalpies of mixing are. Loong, if you want to post an answer I'll accept it. – ericksonla Mar 29 '16 at 03:13
  • Adding water to sulfuric acid generates so much heat that the diluted solution boils and splatters sulfuric acid. To make matters worse sulfuric acid is dense, so the diluted solution "floats" on the surface where it can splatter the most. very very nasty... It is kind of like dumping some water on a really hot skillet. It is definitely not the kind of mistake that anyone would make twice. – MaxW Mar 29 '16 at 05:24
  • Water & ethanol have a (small) positive mixing enthalpy? I'd doubt that very much. – Karl Mar 29 '16 at 12:37

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