[giantrobot]

I called water a "mild" solvent because it's not so reactive as to instantly destroy everything in its path. But in terms of solubility water can act as a solvent for more molecules than anything else (if I remember high school chemistry correctly). This makes it a great medium for moving solutes around and facilitating interesting chemistry.

[szemet]

> I called water a "mild" solvent because it's not so reactive as to instantly destroy everything in its path.

Ok. But I guess the proper common terminology would be "corrosives" for those.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrosive_substance