Solid mercury melting in water - GIF

[Altair]

Solid mercury melting in water.




Previously:

Floating an anvil in liquid mercury - video
Gallium in water - GIF
Crystallization of sodium acetate - GIF
Timeline of chemical element discoveries - photo
Elemental gases in front of a Tesla coil - GIF

[Frank S]

When we were kids long before we learned we were supposed to be afraid of handling mercury we used to coat pennies with it

[TrickieDickie]

me too Frank and we are still here

[Hoosiersmoker]

My mom broke an old mercury thermometer while shaking it down. She told me to get her purse and took out several dimes, scooped up the mercury on her finger and rubbed it on the dimes. I've never seen shinier dimes in my life!

[bob_3000]

Our dentist neighbor used to bring it home for his kids and us to play with for hours on end end end end....

[mwmkravchenko]

As long as you don't eat it, or get it onto cuts you are pretty safe. Played with it to.

[Hoosiersmoker]

Mercury vapor is the real threat, inhalation and absorption into the system causing mercury poisoning and potentially death in high enough concentrations. If mercury isn't cleaned up quickly it starts to evaporate into small particles in the air making it easy to inhale. Broken fluorescent lamps can cause airborne mercury vapor too.

[mwmkravchenko]

Mercury vapor is the real threat, inhalation and absorption into the system causing mercury poisoning and potentially death in high enough concentrations. If mercury isn't cleaned up quickly it starts to evaporate into small particles in the air making it easy to inhale. Broken fluorescent lamps can cause airborne mercury vapor too.

True. I forgot about that. Nothing but fun and games with some things. But so many variables including temperature, length of exposure. Ventilation. It's a miracle we survive all the stupid things we do as kids.

[TrickieDickie]

and fiddling with lead as a kid

[NortonDommi]

The result is that all you guys still have immune systems that are 18, 8 foot and bulletproof.