How do solid metals like iron dissolve in water and enter the body?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mech-eng
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Iron
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
Sign up Log in
8 replies · 2K views
mech-eng
Messages
826
Reaction score
13
The situation has always confused me since primary school. There are elements/metals which are in the form of physical sizes which we can see and touch such as gold, iron, argent etc. How can these metals pass into water or human body? This is very confusing for me. I have heard that there are lots of gold in the ocean and sea waters. And there is strange case with iron with bind all the three cases, physical size, passing into water and organism body. Physical iron is used to treat iron deficiency when used in water. This seems very strange to me. Would you explain these cases?

Self-made
(link deleted)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Discussion

Chemistry news on Phys.org
Your post is half nonsensical, but I bet what you mean is "how do elements that are in the form of solids become soluble?" - if so, they are typically oxidized (or reduced) to ionic forms, these are more or less easy to dissolve.
 
Borek said:
Your post is half nonsensical, but I bet what you mean is "how do elements that are in the form of solids become soluble?" - if so, they are typically oxidized (or reduced) to ionic forms, these are more or less easy to dissolve.

Yes, I don't know correct words. But when putting an iron into water how does it instantly become that form? Are that iron and what we take into our body the same? That metal fish solves the iron deficiancy problem.

Thank you.
 
Same element in different forms. No, iron fish doesn't help, although the idea - that it will slowly dissolve in water - is correct. It is not an instant process, it is quite slow and requires a chemical reaction between iron (in metallic form), water and air oxygen.
 
Borek said:
Same element in different forms. No, iron fish doesn't help, although the idea - that it will slowly dissolve in water - is correct. It is not an instant process, it is quite slow and requires a chemical reaction between iron (in metallic form), water and air oxygen.

Is it all about chemistry? Does introductory chemistry books explain this? What do you mean by "No, iron fish doesn't help?" To help what? To iron deficiancy?

Thank you.
 
Yes, it is all about chemistry, yes, any introductory textbook should give you enough info, yes, iron fish doesn't help with iron deficiency.
 
Yes, I saw the wiki article, but after skimming it I was under impression the only reputable source cited (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) doesn't confirm it works - which I took to mean "at best the jury is still out".
 
Total cereal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_(breakfast_cereal)) uses elemental iron to meet the RDA criterion for dietary iron. Iron microparticles are pressed into the wheat flakes and are oxidized/dissolved in the acidic environment of the stomach, at which point the iron becomes bioavailable. I remember an old experiment in high school, soaking Total in water and using a magnet to collect the iron particles.