Nitric acid is also known as aqua fortis and this currently is considered to be a toxic, but extremely strong, acid. Nitric acid has a yellow color at room temperature, because of the decomposition process, although pure nitric acid is colorless. Still, this acid is now used as an important oxidizing agent in many industrial processes, being a very strong acid, despite the fact that nitric acid is also a poisonous liquid. The acid can be used, for example, as an oxidizer in liquid fuel rockets.

Nitric acid is easily miscible with water and can be found in various forms in commerce, but you should know that the products of this type you will be able to find in sale are going to include impure grades of the acid. Still, the most important thing about nitric acid is that it is a very strong oxidizing agent. The nitric agent is also a good conductor of electricity and it reacts with metals, as well as with oxides and hydroxides. This is how nitrate salts are formed. Explosives can be prepared with the use of nitric acid, the acid also being used in the manufacturing process of many chemicals.

Nitric acid is produced by the oxidation of ammonia, but it can also be formed by the treatment of sodium nitrate with sulfuric acid. Pure nitric acid can be stored below 0 °C to avoid decomposition. The best thing about nitric acid is that it can be used with most metals, as it reacts in the great majority of cases. This is the main reason why, nitric acid is now used as an agent in many acid tests. Anyway, although nitric acid reacts with most metals, you should not expect it to react with all of them. For example, nitric acid will never react with gold. Nitric acid also reacts with non metals, many times the reactions being explosive. This is why, while working with nitric acid, people must be very careful, as this is a very powerful oxidizing agent. Accidents can easily take place when powerful acids are used, so safety is the first thing you should have in mind when handing nitric acid.