What is the liquid used to break stone slabs?

[venkat badugu]

Hi guys,

I have seen in my village that there is one guy who is heating up the stone slab for few mins with gas cylinder fire and after few mins. he pouring some liquid on that heated part. Immediately that part becomes break small pieces. He removes them and again heating up and pouring that liquid. Like this, he total breaks that stone slap and makes big hole. As a chemist student, i wanted to know what is that liquid. when i asked him, he simply smiles and not revealing me. I felt very bad that though i studied person, i could n't find out the liquid name as that person know. I think its available every where. i thought that its spirit, but its not when i checked its smell. he carrying in plastic bottle and it looks like water. but its not water.

so what could be the liquid. any guesses here guys. Just out of interest, i am posting it here. Thanks to all.

 

[Borek]

How do you know it is not just water?

 

[venkat badugu]

How do you know it is not just water?

I have checked. I don't think stone slab split into pieces if we pour water into it. water reduces heat, where as here liquid giving more heat to stone.

 

[Borek]

 

[Merlin3189]

From your description this has to be a physical process. The breaks are inside the material, but the liquid touches only the surface.
Since the flame is heating the material, it seems reasonable to think the liquid does the opposite and cools it. Water would seem a good candidate.

The mechanism would be stress caused by parts of the stone being at different temperatures and different strain. Heating with the torch may be relatively slow, so that the temperature gradient is not great enough. Sudden cooling could increase the strain gradient.

Heating alone is enogh to fracture some stone.

 

[venkat badugu]

I know that glass will break with water when its in high temperature. How about for raw stones and stone slabs. will it be happens the same.

 

[Borek]

How about for raw stones and stone slabs. will it be happens the same.

See what Merlin wrote above, same mechanism at work.

 

[Jake Osborne]

I doubt that it is any chemical solution because that would make a dangerous amount of vapor. Although there probably is certain chemicals that might work for something like that, what he is using is most likely water

 

[phinds]

I doubt that it is any chemical solution because that would make a dangerous amount of vapor. Although there probably is certain chemicals that might work for something like that, what he is using is most likely water