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Fried Chicken wrote:

I realize it's dangerous, that's why I keep it in a closed container, and I wanna find an even more closed container...

Anyway, chances are you have a pretty high concentration of mercury in your thermostat... More then what I have.

Anyway, some of you might have heard of Theodore Gray... Well, he is a really cool guy, check out his website.  Even more cool is his periodic table page, which has all sorts of elements, and samples that he has.  Here is his mercury thing, and he has some crazy mercury stuff, and at the very bottom, you see the Mercury Fountain.  Talk about insanely cool.... and dangerous...

Anyway, there is mercury in your home... just look in your thermostat...
http://photobucket.com/albums/v328/sams … stat-1.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v328/sams … stat-2.jpg

Good stuff, but I'm not gonna take it out of my container.  It's just too dangerous.  I'll keep it and just play around w/it, sloshing it around and stuff.

Ya, it's dangerous, but it looks like it should be fine in that container. Just don't rub it all over your face or eat it.

You need a lot of prolonged contact before you experience the effects of mercury poisoning and or start throwing magic tea parties for rabbits.

And ya, Mercury is everywhere. Car alarms are another popular device that use mercury switches.

Tria wrote:

. . .  Mercury has a very low vapor pressure, which means that you don't have to boil it to get it in the air.  That's what makes the liquid so dangerous.  Being around unsealed mercury means you're inhaling the vapors, so even if you're not actively ingesting it, you're taking it into your body.

Tria is correct.  Mercury at room temperature releases enough vapor to be dangerous.  I'd prefer you disposed of the mercury in an appropriate fashion, i.e. a hazardous material clean-up by your local city.  However given that you're unlikely to take this health protecting advice, we default to something a bit less safe but better than doing nothing. Keep the mercury in a sealed container to keep the vapors trapped.  Do not handle it with your bare hands.  It is absorbed through the skin.  The container you keep it in will get a thin film of mercury on it.  Do not use this container for anything else afterwards.

Mercury is one of those compounds that builds up in the body and is never excreted.  Hence its possible to get half a lethal dose as a child and the other half as an old man and die.  It also affects liver and brain function at less than lethal dosages.

Kirk wrote:

Tria wrote:

. . .  Mercury has a very low vapor pressure, which means that you don't have to boil it to get it in the air.  That's what makes the liquid so dangerous.  Being around unsealed mercury means you're inhaling the vapors, so even if you're not actively ingesting it, you're taking it into your body.

Tria is correct.  Mercury at room temperature releases enough vapor to be dangerous.  I'd prefer you disposed of the mercury in an appropriate fashion, i.e. a hazardous material clean-up by your local city.  However given that you're unlikely to take this health protecting advice, we default to something a bit less safe but better than doing nothing. Keep the mercury in a sealed container to keep the vapors trapped.  Do not handle it with your bare hands.  It is absorbed through the skin.  The container you keep it in will get a thin film of mercury on it.  Do not use this container for anything else afterwards.

Mercury is one of those compounds that builds up in the body and is never excreted.  Hence its possible to get half a lethal dose as a child and the other half as an old man and die.  It also affects liver and brain function at less than lethal dosages.

Building up in your body is why you're not supposed to eat certain kinds of fish more than once a month or so. 'Least that's what they told me in school.

Well, I got a proper vial for the mercury, and it shall become my permanent mercury collection thing.  It's a nice little container, and I transferred the mercury under a fume hood.

vapors are for inhaling!!!
tito

I want to float in a pool of mercury!  It sounds like fun!  But no splashing, k?

Chickenhawk wrote:

I'd only want to float on a pool of mercury if it was while in a hazmat suit. Don't want that smurf diffusing through my skin, or inhaling vapors. It'd be very cool otherwise.

Yeah, it would be very cool.... Maybe it explains how jesus can "walk on water"

Phydeaux wrote:

Fried Chicken wrote:

Chickenhawk wrote:

I'd only want to float on a pool of mercury if it was while in a hazmat suit. Don't want that smurf diffusing through my skin, or inhaling vapors. It'd be very cool otherwise.

Yeah, it would be very cool.... Maybe it explains how jesus can "walk on water"

But that doesn't make any sense.

Turkey punch the red shingles on a full decker!

The best thing about mercury is the way it tastes.

SMITTY wrote:

HAY!!!!
Mercouries is many dangiruos. You is ability the getnig teh ote of a thurmomeetre. It es the Hg who is the bad of yoe body. He coem form the peeriodix tablet of illomints nombre 80. Be cairfool. Doe not mix wik akcahaulic drinks an oporate on masheeniry. Mercoury is vary hottre then Erfth, it the meltnig of ledd mettle the temporatore is be so much of hottir.
-SMITTY

Pee. S: Donno dip any ciggerettes insied of Hg an smoek it, yoe well possess mush sickniss!

WOW. JUST WOW.

tF

Welcome back, Smitty.  As usual you're posts are quite amusing.  Good job remembering that Mercury's chemical symbol is Hg.

I used to play with mercury all the time as a child and I is just fine

Mercury tastes like sunshine wrapped inside a rainbow.

Last edited by Moses (2005-10-02 11:27 pm)