So, we put an old Maxtor harddrive in a glass measuring beaker, and 
stood it in one of our fume cupboards.

We poured nitric acid on it. Nothing.

The guy opened a bottle of sulphuric acid, which was smoking slightly. 
Pour some of that in... a tiny amount of fizzing. That's about it.

So we stand at look at it for a moment. And then my college decides to 
add a little hydrochloric acid.

Woah... I'm not sure what the chemistry of this is, but now it's foaming 
like hell, and there's huge clouds of dark brown smoke coming off it. 
Uh, yeah, I think we close the fume hood now...

After a few minutes it eventually stopped fizzing. There's still some 
kind of brown vapour issuing from it though. And the black paint is 
slowly falling off, revealing the dully silver metal beneath.

It will be interesting to see if there's anything left by Monday. My 
college thinks it will have been reduced to sludge by then. I suspect 
it'll still be in once piece, just slightly corroded around the outside.

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