metalresearcher - 30-8-2011 at 12:58
I am curious whethdr anyone created solid Hg and investigated its properties.
ScienceHideout - 30-8-2011 at 13:30
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=freezing+mercury
You might find that interesting...
Endimion17 - 30-8-2011 at 16:15
Yeah, I've did it. It looks pretty much like a very clean piece of lead, only heavier. What kind of properties did you have in mind?
hkparker - 30-8-2011 at 16:59
Basco36, on youtube, has done a video on it. Not in much depth but I think you might find it interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apijzIKrTeM
EDIT: also, this belongs in beginnings or chemistry in general.
[Edited on 31-8-2011 by hkparker]
Dr.Bob - 1-9-2011 at 11:03
We used to do it in high school before people knew that mercury was "dangerous". And I turned out fine.
Someone did a liquid nitrogen demo, and part was to pour mercury into a mold and freeze it in the liquid mercury, then he pulled it and and removed a
small hammer made of frozen mercury, drove a nail with it (into wood, likely balsa) and then put the hammer in a beaker, where it melted a short time
later. I think there was at least one other trick with mercury, maybe a nail made of it as well. It looked like a shiny tin or aluminum to me.
We used to roll it around in our hands when I was smaller. Those were the days.
Bob
Pyro - 8-4-2012 at 06:28
well, im under the impression that Hg is waay less dangerous than it is made out to be,
they used to use it to make hats, hence the expression: mad as a hatter
but ive handled mercury before and i'm still sane... i think
but long term exposure doesnt sound like a good idea either
Pyro - 8-4-2012 at 06:34
well, im under the impression that Hg is waay less dangerous than it is made out to be,
they used to use it to make hats, hence the expression: mad as a hatter
but ive handled mercury before and i'm still sane... i think
but long term exposure doesnt sound like a good idea either
Mailinmypocket - 8-4-2012 at 07:01
I think that the hatters were also under the impression that it was way less dangerous than they thought lol
I too, however have handled mercury a lot with my bare hands in the past (including recently where I just had to dunk my finger to the bottom of 100
ml with 50 ml of mercury in it just to see how it felt, not a regular activity for me though.. .maybe I will go senile a few days earlier than
anticipated 
) Such an odd cold, gelatinous feeling ...weird
In my opinion as long as exposure is kept to an absolute minimum, and that proper safety measures are followed there is no HUGE danger. Its the vapors
and soluble salts that are dangerous, not so much the transdermal impact of touching the metal
Short video on a frozen mercury bell!