I know the dangers of elemental sodium and how reactive it is particularly with contact with water, however it got me wondering would sodium metal taste bitter since it would probably make naoh upon contact with the tongue or would it taste salty due to the presence of sodium ions on the tongue? (before it ignites and removes the ability to taste anything afterward of course)
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$\begingroup$ It would taste bitter due to the formation of sodium hydroxide. So awfully bitter ,that any salt of sodium formed in the mouth wouldn't have an effect. Then it would of course, become hot and blast. What happens next is a mystery. $\endgroup$– NightwingCommented Jun 3 at 6:58
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3$\begingroup$ Taste sensoric cells would be too busy to defend their membranes against saponification by aggresive OH- ions to notice bystanding Na+ ions. $\endgroup$– PoutnikCommented Jun 3 at 8:00
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2$\begingroup$ Sorry but this question does not make sense. Do you have the cognitive and physiological acuity to register and temporally resolve the changing stimuli during the experiment? Also, your senses have limits of detection and it would make more sense to extrapolate from lower to increasing pH solutions. In other words, if you know you'd be tasting NaOH (or saponified tongue), why not check what NaOH tastes like (or saponified tongue from a supermarket)? $\endgroup$– Buck Thorn ♦Commented Jun 3 at 8:44
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1 Answer
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Don't Consume it. The reaction would be vigourous. This reaction would result in the formation of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) upon reacting with the moisture in your mouth, along with hydrogen gas. The nature of the reaction is exothermic. The NaOH(it tastes bitter) would cause a burning sensation and severe tissue damage, overwhelming any taste perception. Realistically speaking, you could never know or be able to comprehend the taste, because of all the burning. Furthermore, it would disrupt the fatty membranes (lipids) in your mouth, essentially creating soap through saponification.
Interestingly, you could tell how it feels on your tongue(not taste), by just looking at its texture. The nerves in your tongue, constantly send sensory information about texture, temperature, and moisture to your brain. This information is then stored in your brain's memory banks. Thus when you see the texture of sodium, you would be able to roughly estimate how its texture would feel on your tongue. This is off-topic(from chemistry), and hence would suggest you to explore it in your own free time. Check out more here.
