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See the Lab Note "How to Clean Up Spilled Mercury" in the 20 July 2001 issue of the E-Bulletin.

07 December 2001

Managing Mercury

Adapted from A Thousand and One Formulas by Sidney Gernsback

Mercury is difficult to manage, on account of its weight and the ease with which it picks up impurities. Stone-ware mortars are better for holding mercury than glass beakers, which easily crack when set down. all operations with mercury should be conducted over a tray or on a table with a groove around the edge.

Dust on the surface of Mercury may be removed by allowing the mercury to run through dry filter paper in which a few pin holes have been made. Or the merciry may be washed in a current of water, and then passed through a separating funnel. The little moisture on the surface may be easily removed with a blotting paper. Many metals easily dissolve in mercury; and a very little tin or zinc will spoil its fluidity. They are best removed by shaking the mercury in a bottle with a little nitric acid; the tin or zinc will then dissove, leaving the mercury pure.