I want to play with a room temp liquid metal.

[Smackem]

Does anyone know where I can get kg of metal that is liquid @ room tempature? I have never got a chance to play with any. Whats the most safe?

 

[LeiZaK]

Originally posted by: Smackem
Does anyone know where I can get kg of metal that is liquid @ room tempature? I have never got a chance to play with any. Whats the most safe?

You want to drink it, don't you?

 

[Inspector Jihad]

mercury...its also fun to lick it...go ahead...its perfectly safe

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: Smackem
Whats the most safe?

Play with mercurary... it's non-toxic.

 

[SagaLore]

The only metal that is liquid at room temperature that I'm aware is mercury.

People have died slow and horrible deaths from mercury exposure.

 

[meltdown75]

we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

 

[BlackAdam]

Ever heard of Mad Hatter Syndrome? Have fun playing with mercury...

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

You played with it? Like in your hand? Without gloves?

 

[ggnl]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

I'm pretty sure metallic mercury (the kind in thermometers at least) is non-toxic.

Edit: NM, I guess it's still toxic, just less toxic than other forms.

 

[Remy XO]

that ****** they use in T2

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: ggnl
I'm pretty sure metallic mercury (the kind in thermometers at least) is non-toxic.

Edit: NM, I guess it's still toxic, just less toxic than other forms.

:thumbsup: for less toxic. no idea why we had it, but it was in the medicine cabinet when i was a kid. is there any reason people used to have it in the old days?

GTaudiophile: yes. in the hands.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

You played with it? Like in your hand? Without gloves?

I have heard lots of adults saying they did as kids. My dad and high school chemistry teacher to name a couple.

 

[Eli]

There are much better ways to commit suicide..

 

[BW86]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

my dad told me that he used to play with mercury too, in chem class. The teacher would pass it around the room and let everyone hold it

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

You played with it? Like in your hand? Without gloves?

We did, too. There was always a bottle of mercury in science class.
When I got older, I used to save the mercury from all the thermostats and boiler controls I demo'd out.
I don't think I have any around anymore and I don't play with it anymore.
If I had a bottle right now I might stick a finger in it or something, though.
It's fun stuff.

 

[ed21x]

cornstarch, water, and lots and lots of glitter =)

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: BW86

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

my dad told me that he used to play with mercury too, in chem class. The teacher would pass it around the room and let everyone hold it

heh. i still vividly remember my high school chemistry teacher removing a hunk of phosphorous from whatever liquid contained it in the jar. that day i learned that phosphorous and oxygen have a good time together.

top it off with the fact that he was a dead ringer for Beaker from the Muppets... man, what a classic moment. he was alright btw.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: BW86

Originally posted by: meltdown75
we used to play with mercury when we were little kids. what the F is up with that?

"ooh, it's so heavy!" "wow, neat!"

am i gonna die young?

my dad told me that he used to play with mercury too, in chem class. The teacher would pass it around the room and let everyone hold it

heh. i still vividly remember my high school chemistry teacher removing a hunk of phosphorous from whatever liquid contained it in the jar. that day i learned that phosphorous and oxygen have a good time together.

top it off with the fact that he was a dead ringer for Beaker from the Muppets... man, what a classic moment. he was alright btw.

Beaker was awesome.

Elemental mercury does absorb through the skin, but not particularly fast. Long term exposure and ingestion are bad things, but handling some elemental mercury for a few seconds once in your life isn't particularly dangerous imo... I wouldn't recommend it though.

 

[Mark R]

Yeah, you can get less toxic liquid metal alloys. They're used in thermometers.

If you buy a thermometer today, it won't have mercury in - it'll have a special metal alloy called galinstan [a mixture of gallium, indium and tin (latin: stannum)]. You should be able to get it from a decent chemical supplier - however it's quite expensive (about $2-3/g I think).

Mercury was a common substance in schools, and attitudes to safety were considerably different in the past. It was common practice to store bar magnets in a bowl of mercury, so they floated on the surface (you just picked one off when you wanted to use it), and it was perfectly acceptable to allow pupils to dip their hands in it, etc.

 

[Rubycon]

Pure Gallium is much more entertaining to play with if you're so inclined. A cube sits on the table at room temperature as a solid yet will melt if you pick it up!

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: Mark R
Yeah, you can get less toxic liquid metal alloys. They're used in thermometers.

If you buy a thermometer today, it won't have mercury in - it'll have a special metal alloy called galinstan [a mixture of gallium, indium and tin (latin: stannum)]. You should be able to get it from a decent chemical supplier - however it's quite expensive (about $2-3/g I think).

Mercury was a common substance in schools, and attitudes to safety were considerably different in the past. It was common practice to store bar magnets in a bowl of mercury, so they floated on the surface (you just picked one off when you wanted to use it), and it was perfectly acceptable to allow pupils to dip their hands in it, etc.

A lot of thermometers today use alcohol-based solutions as well.

 

[Xonoahbin]

If you're serious, Bromine might be the way to go.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: Mark R
Yeah, you can get less toxic liquid metal alloys. They're used in thermometers.

If you buy a thermometer today, it won't have mercury in - it'll have a special metal alloy called galinstan [a mixture of gallium, indium and tin (latin: stannum)]. You should be able to get it from a decent chemical supplier - however it's quite expensive (about $2-3/g I think).

Mercury was a common substance in schools, and attitudes to safety were considerably different in the past. It was common practice to store bar magnets in a bowl of mercury, so they floated on the surface (you just picked one off when you wanted to use it), and it was perfectly acceptable to allow pupils to dip their hands in it, etc.

Why not store the magnets in a wooden box?

 

[kitkat22]

Bromine and Mercury are the only two elements that are liquid at room temp. Mercury is toxic in sufficient quantities, but the biggest issue is there is no mechanism in the body to remove mercury, so it is cumulative. Mercury also has a low vapor pressure so despite the fact that it is a heavy metal it easily and quickly gets into the atmosphere of a small room and at large quantities. It is also extremely difficult to clean up after a spill because it can get into tiny crevices or in carpet and essentially never come out. You won't find mercury very easily.

 

[Jimmah]

Bah, I can't remember what letal is liquid if you hold onto it in your hand but solid at room temp, might be my mind playing tricks on me but I seem to remember this rather vividly.