Why mercury is forbidden aboard airplanes

Post by mcaloney » Wed, Mar 18, 2009, 2:43 PM UTC

jodrellblank wrote: post #14

tlb wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's true -- mercury in an amalgam (normally with silver & tin) doesn't leach out. Most of the heavy metals that are dangerous by themselves can by alloyed or chelated to make them biologically safe.

This video from the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology - http://iaomt.org/videos/ - shows mercury vapour being released from a filling under such ordinary situations as drinking a hot drink, chewing, etc.

This episode of Skeptoid - http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4036 - discusses this very video and concludes that what we're actually seeing in the video is water vapour (since mercury vapour is much heavier than air, why is it rising in the video?).

Post by noonespecial » Thu, Mar 19, 2009, 1:47 AM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #38

noonespecial wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mercury has to more or less be a special paste and be smeared in the right area. The surface tension of ordinary liquid mercury seems too high to get the alu "wet" otherwise. I umm.. ehem .. went and maybe umm tired it a little bit after seeing this because it sounded so darn cool. The liquid mercury I've culled from old thermostats had no discernible effect. Edit: I tried it on a piece of aluminum angle bar. I e…

That article most definitely should have come with a "dont try this at home kids" at the end.

We're hackers. We always try this at home.

Re: Why mercury is forbidden aboard airplanes

Re: Why mercury is forbidden aboard airplanes