It seems that this message did not make it, so I am forwarding it again.
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"Nina Silver, Ph.D." wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Marshall Dudley <mdud...@execonn.com>
> To: <silver-list@eskimo.com>
> Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2000 4:04 PM
> Subject: Re: CS>question about boric acid for plants
>
> > Borax is sodium tetraborate decahydrate or hydrated sodium borate, and
> boric
> > acid is HBO2 or H3BO2. Boric acid can be produced by the action of acids
> on
> > borax.
> >
> > They are both toxic to ants, but boric acid is more toxic than borax.
> >
> > Marshall
>
> Marshall,
> Thanks for the clarification. The list I got off the web lists all the
> borates together. Can you:
> 1) give the chemical composition for Borax (in the same form as you did
> with boric acid), and
> 2) give a little more detail about what makes them different from each
> other?
>
> Many thanks.
> Nina
I can find no other name for boric acid. I am not surprised. To call it
hydrogen boron dioxide or trihydrogen boron dioxide would be like calling
sulfuric acid - hydrogen sulfate. Borax is actually a weak base, not an acid
as boric acid is. http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~jill/borax.html
http://www.infoventures.com/e-hlth/pestcide/borax.html:
Common name: borax
Chemical name: sodium tetraborate decahydrate
http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/carbonat/borax/borax.htm
BORAX
Chemistry: Na2B4O7 -10H2O, Hydrated sodium borate.
Information on boric acid:
http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/3A/03A1C000.htm and borax
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=04C42000
Marshall
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