Acid Cheeseburger

About this video

What happens when you dunk a cheeseburger in hydrochloric acid?

The Periodic Videos team submerge a cheeseburger in a beaker of concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCI) to reveal the liquid’s digestive effects.

Martyn Poliakoff, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, is on hand to explain the science behind the experiment.  

Whilst the effect on the cheeseburger after three hours may look disgusting, hydrochloric acid (HCI) is found in our stomachs and helps break up the food we eat into smaller, useable components.