Mercury - Who Knew!!!!

[lilpixieofterror]

Good old mercury switches. I used to attach them to door knobs so when they were turned they set off an... um, alarm. Yeah, that's it. Alarms

And this 'alarm' caused a strange sensation that felt a lot like an electrical shock?

[rogue06]

And this 'alarm' caused a strange sensation that felt a lot like an electrical shock?

Let's just say that the alarm was real loud.

[Jedidiah]

I remember back in the Sixties we used to get quarters and soak them in a drop of mercury. It made the quarters shiny and slippery.

I loved to do it with pennies. Made them look like shiny dimes.

[Sparko]

I have always wanted to play with mercury, but it was too big to fit in my pocket.
















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[supton]

You should see how the government treats mercury switches and contractors that we have occasionally found. We have a sealed 5 gallon bucket, for anything that contains mercury.

Well, most of those switches (at least the ones I've seen) are in glass tubes, so if you drop them hard enough... but yeah, not exactly that dangerous.

I recall reading how beryllium was getting banned in electronics for military--if a bullet hit the electronic gear that had beryllium in it, it could release toxic dust. I guess that dust is worse than the bullet.

[Cow Poke]

Well, most of those switches (at least the ones I've seen) are in glass tubes, so if you drop them hard enough... but yeah, not exactly that dangerous.

I recall reading how beryllium was getting banned in electronics for military--if a bullet hit the electronic gear that had beryllium in it, it could release toxic dust. I guess that dust is worse than the bullet.

I don't know if they still do it, but when the Abrams tanks first started operating at Fort Hood in Waco, the tank crew would have to put sheets of plywood under the tank to catch any oil spills. If the tank was going to be stationary for more than 5 minutes, they had to "deploy the retention apparatus".

So, how did the tank crews respond? They made sure never to be stopped for more than 5 minutes unless they were parking at the end of the exercise. That meant they were constantly running, spewing forth diesel fumes!

[rogue06]

I have always wanted to play with mercury, but it was too big to fit in my pocket.








[ATTACH=CONFIG]12723[/ATTACH]

Pockets? I always figured you for a man purse sorta guy.

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[rogue06]

Well, most of those switches (at least the ones I've seen) are in glass tubes, so if you drop them hard enough... but yeah, not exactly that dangerous.

I recall reading how beryllium was getting banned in electronics for military--if a bullet hit the electronic gear that had beryllium in it, it could release toxic dust. I guess that dust is worse than the bullet.

That kind of reminds me of how the military stopped using Freon in their nuclear ICBMs.

[supton]

I don't know if they still do it, but when the Abrams tanks first started operating at Fort Hood in Waco, the tank crew would have to put sheets of plywood under the tank to catch any oil spills. If the tank was going to be stationary for more than 5 minutes, they had to "deploy the retention apparatus".

So, how did the tank crews respond? They made sure never to be stopped for more than 5 minutes unless they were parking at the end of the exercise. That meant they were constantly running, spewing forth diesel fumes!

Read the story the other day about a guy who had a bad starter in his work van. Instead of replacing it, he just... left it running. For two years, until it got totaled. Add oil periodically.

[Sparko]

That kind of reminds me of how the military stopped using Freon in their nuclear ICBMs.

green bombs. lol

[Cerebrum123]

green bombs. lol

Especially since it's nuclear bombs.

[Sparko]

Especially since it's nuclear bombs.

ar least it will be a healthy nuclear winter.

[Cow Poke]

I miss my Mercury!

[rogue06]

I miss my Mercury!

Me too

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Sold it to a friend who got drunk and totaled it a couple weeks later.

[One Bad Pig]

I miss my Mercury!

You lost it?