[Avodah] The Burning of the Golden Calf

[Moshe Y. Gluck]

R' Joshua Meisner:
> IANAMetallurgist, 

You could have fooled me! :-)

> but it sounds like it could be sulfur (or some
> natural compound containing such).  Although gold is inert to the
> majority of chemical attacks, most gold jewelry contains a significant
> fraction of other metals such as silver and copper, as pure gold is
> too soft and malleable to be very useful.  These alloys were also
> known in the ancient world.  Metal sulfides have inferior mechanical
> properties compared to the metals themselves, so that once the surface
> of a piece of metal is sulfidized, it would crack and flake off,
> especially at high temperatures (and if agitation is used), revealing
> a new clean layer of metal to be attacked, until eventually one would
> get a blackish powder.  I'm not sure how long this "eventually" would
> take, but if the metal was concurrently mechanically ground to
> maximize its surface area (as per "vayitchan ad asher dak"), the rate
> of the reaction would be accelerated.

If I understand correctly, you are suggesting here (and in the next -
snipped for brevity - paragraph) that the gold for the Eigel HaZahav wasn't
pure, although it may have been close, and that by putting some sulfur-like
substance in the flame what would essentially be a souped-up tarnishing
process could occur. You also suggest that perhaps the Eigel was
concurrently ground (in the fire?) thus speeding the process up. 
If you are correct about the last sentence, then Pshat in the Pasuk is that
the Vayitchan Ad Asher Dak was not the direct enabler of Vayizer Al P'nei
Hamayim, but rather it was the catalyst for the tarnishing and subsequent
flaking of the metal, after which the remaining flakes were able to be
spread over the water. 
If you are not correct (but still correct about the tarnishing part) it
would seem strange that Moshe would have them cause the Eigel to become
black on the surface only, and subsequently grind it, revealing its golden
interior again. What would be the point?
That said, I'm not sure that the Ibn Ezra's words work with this. Quote (Ibn
Ezra Ha'aruch, from MHK's Toras Chaim Chumash): Ki Yeish Davar She'yusam
B'eish Im HaZahav U'm'yad Y'sareif V'yi'yeh Shachor Ul'olam Lo Yashuv Zahav.
The first part sounds like it is something that happens either
instantaneously or close to it, and the last phrase makes it sound that this
causes some reaction in the whole piece - if it were just tarnish then why
would he say that it never becomes gold again? It also seems that the Ibn
Ezra had some knowledge of the process because he finishes off by saying
"V'zeh Davar M'nusah U'barur Hu."
I am very unschooled in these matters, but I was thinking that maybe a
strong acid could bore its way through the gold, causing a chemical change
as it went along??

KT,
MYG