Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Glass bottle for mercury

Glass bottle for mercury

mr.crow - 6-6-2011 at 06:28

I recently acquired some wonderful mercury. The density of this stuff just freaks me out.

Is it safe to put it in a glass bottle or will the sloshing around just break it? Im thinking of a pyrex media bottle.

ScienceSquirrel - 6-6-2011 at 06:34

That really depends on how much you have, how strong the bottle is and how much sloshing you intend to do!

woelen - 6-6-2011 at 06:37

I would not feel comfortable having mercury around in a glass bottle. When it just stands somewhere it will not break, but when it is moved around, then indeed there is a serious risk of breaking the glass, especially when the amount of mercury is large. A small sample of a few ml in a thick walled glass ampoule is safe, but e.g. 100 ml in an ordinary 100 ml is not safe.

If you want to make a nice display of the mercury, then consider putting 10 ml of it in a small (e.g. 30 ml) thick-walled glass bottle, such as Schott Duran bottles:

mr.crow - 6-6-2011 at 06:51

I showed the plastic bottle to the GF, shake shake shake! gahhh what are you doing?? It survived shipping and was expertly packaged so I'm not worried.

Ya those are the bottles I have in mind. Smallest one I could find is 100 mL. The Hg is approx 10 mL (125g!)

[Edited on 6-6-2011 by mr.crow]

digitalemu - 6-6-2011 at 09:02

Quote: Originally posted by mr.crow

I showed the plastic bottle to the GF, shake shake shake! gahhh what are you doing?? It survived shipping and was expertly packaged so I'm not worried.

Ya those are the bottles I have in mind. Smallest one I could find is 100 mL. The Hg is approx 10 mL (125g!)

[Edited on 6-6-2011 by mr.crow]

If you were able to locate a small glass bottle with PPE coating would be ideal. 10 ml should not pop the bottom out of a 100ml glass under normal use, your worst fear would be dropping that glass bottle which is why the PPE coating would be ideal. Seen 100ml + slosh around without any issues.

hkparker - 6-6-2011 at 09:58

If your not concerned with the bottle looking pretty I would wrap it in a few layers of clear packaging tape. That way if the Hg does break the glass it will probably be still held together with the tape and let you pour it into another container.

redox - 6-6-2011 at 11:32

Where did you get the mercury? How much did it cost?

mr.crow - 9-6-2011 at 15:22

It turns out Pyrex media bottles are GREAT for mercury! 125g is no problem, it barely covers the bottom of the bottle.