WTB Liquid Mercury/Quicksilver

[flylo]

Probably 5# or whatever you have & yes I know to be careful & have used it before. Thanks!

[IanParkin]

Shame that
I have 20 lbs that I'm wanting rid of
Posting may be an issue

Ian

[ikdor]

Just to entertain our curiosity, what are you planning to do with it? Build a vacuum pump?

[Andre3127]

Just to entertain our curiosity, what are you planning to do with it? Build a vacuum pump?

Codys lab made a video about one. It's very slow, but highly energy efficient and can pull a "vacuum" equal to the vapor pressure of mercury.

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[6PTsocket]

Probably 5# or whatever you have & yes I know to be careful & have used it before. Thanks!

They used to use it to smooth felt hats. The mercury did brain damage. That is where the expression " mad as a hatter" comes from and the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

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[ikdor]

I doubt that flylo is starting a hat shop......

[6PTsocket]

I doubt that flylo is starting a hat shop......

I never suggested that he was; just that mercury toxicity is so well known that it has entered into the idiom. It's use has been substituted for something else almost everywhere it was used. It is however, still used in florescent bulbs. There is a tiny little bead of it rolling around loose and it vaporizes to get the lamp started. LEDs are replacing florescents

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[garyhlucas]

A big use was in amalgam for tooth fillings. Likely half of older Americans have a mouthful.

[Frank K]

A big use was in amalgam for tooth fillings. Likely half of older Americans have a mouthful.

My dentist, who is fairly young, will still do amalgam fillings upon request in areas that are not cosmetically significant. However they come prepackaged in a crushable container so that there is no exposure to liquid mercury.

[danlb]

Probably refining gold.

Dan

[Seastar]

I'll bet he is building a bomb.
It's used to refine unobtanium.
Bill

[JoeLee]

They used to use it to smooth felt hats. The mercury did brain damage. That is where the expression " mad as a hatter" comes from and the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

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I've heard of that before but I always wondered how do they smooth a felt hat with mercury ?? Rub it all over the hat with bare hands ??

[JoeLee]

My dentist, who is fairly young, will still do amalgam fillings upon request in areas that are not cosmetically significant. However they come prepackaged in a crushable container so that there is no exposure to liquid mercury.

I always wondered about this also.... so after the mercury is mixed and it hardens in your tooth , it's no longer toxic right??

[macona]

I always wondered about this also.... so after the mercury is mixed and it hardens in your tooth , it's no longer toxic right??

Its an amalgam and does not separate from the "alloy". And metallic mercury is not really that big of a deal, it is the compounds of mercury that are really bad. Metallic mercury has a biological half-life of about 15 days. Constant exposure like hatters and miners are exposed to is not good but occasional exposure it not likely to do anything to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvVaaZ21C44

[PStechPaul]

I got rid of a plastic jar with probably 5-10 pounds of Hg many years ago. It was in a box with some standard cells and other old calibration equipment I found in the scrap pile at a Hamfest (IIRC). I still have a few standard cells which contain some mercury as well as cadmium and acid and other nasty stuff, but probably not enough to be worthwhile.

When I took the jar to the local landfill that handles toxic materials (such as asbestos shingles), they seemed horrified and would not take it. I took it back home and they sent a hazmat truck to put it in a sealed plastic bucket and take it away. People seem to be freaked out about mercury and even metallic lead, but I was surprised by the reaction of the people at the landfill.