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Registered Member #99
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:10PM
Location: florida, usa
Posts: 637
Yea, im beginning to side with you against gallium. I guess it was also an excuse to get some gallium...
As to the H2 balloons...Wow that is very funny!Id love to see that happen, that will show those people who have a desire to pop balloons just for destruction...
Registered Member #690
Joined: Tue May 08 2007, 03:47AM
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 616
Don't get me wrong, tho, I would love to have some gallium. A non-toxic metal that melts in your hand? How cool is that? And you can make alloys with it that melt below room temp, so its like non-toxic mercury substitute. I've always wanted to know what it would feel like to put your hand in a beaker of mercury, if it wasn't poisonous. I bet the weight of the liquid would feel like squeezing your hand.
Sadly, that much gallium would cost hundreds of dollars...
Registered Member #261
Joined: Mon Feb 27 2006, 12:34AM
Location:
Posts: 22
But you'd be wrong. Gallium is notorious for its lack of surface tension and it's property of sticking to everything, quite unlike Hg! To clear Hg of surface goo, I pour it into a filter paper and it just sits there, well, poke a hole in the paper and the Hg streams through leaving the gunk behind.
Hg's toxicity has been blown out of proportion by the media. I have 3lbs of it 3 feet from me, but that is irrelivent as it is sealed quite happily. It is interesting to stick your hand in it and have it come out perfectly dry. Gallium, on the other hand, would coat your hand with a silvery film and it sticks to beakers and mirrors everything it touches.
Registered Member #690
Joined: Tue May 08 2007, 03:47AM
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 616
Right, I know gallium can be used to wet glass to make 1st surface mirrors, so it would probably do the same for a filter paper.
So you actually can safely touch HG? Is that because only the vapor is poisonous (as long as you don't eat the liquid or something...)? I have about 5 grams I got from the old thermometers our chem teacher was gonna throw out, but where can I get 3 pounds? not just for touching, but it would be nice to have.
Could you compare it to the toxicity of solid or liquid lead? Because I know how overblown that is... I should be dead with the amount of lead-based soldering I've done.
Registered Member #261
Joined: Mon Feb 27 2006, 12:34AM
Location:
Posts: 22
The toxicities of the two metals are not exactly comparable due to the differing physical traits. Lead vapors and compounds are dangerous, just as mercury's are. However, the bp. of Hg is circa de ~380C wheras lead is 1700C or so. Vapor pressures for both are much different, however both of them are very low at touchy-feely tempartures.
So, mercury is dangerous.... partially true. Once it is absorbed in your bloodstream or stuck in your body yes. Let us go over the possible ways of mercury exposure: Handling: high surface tension and a barrier of skin implies that it will not be readily absorbed. Stay away from open cuts, but even there the surface tension... Inhaling: rather difficult to do; the RT metal does not exactly evaporate oh-so-quickly, and the heated metal --well, don't do that. Ingestion: It literally goes right through you due to density, your body retains about 1%, so I've read. Wouldn't try that.
Just don't eat lead.
Gallium toxicity, never hear anything about that.. some gallium compounds are used medically, Ga (III) behaves as iron in body chemistry, so in theory lots of Ga(III) could do bad things, but it is used as an antibacterial agent for that exact reason.
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Gallium + Aluminum = hydrogen Gas
