| (Chem.) a colorless, mobile, volatile liquid, HF, very corrosive in its action, and having a strong, pungent, suffocating odor. It is produced by the action of sulphuric acid on fluorite, and is usually collected as a solution in water. It attacks all silicates, as glass or porcelain, is the agent employed in etching glass, and is preserved only in vessels of platinum, lead, caoutchouc, or gutta-percha. |