r/BeAmazed • u/himmokala • Dec 15 '24

Science Using red dye to demonstrate how Mercury cannot be absorbed by a towel

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u/Informal_Process2238 Dec 15 '24

They better be careful i hear that shit is poison and the mercury is no joke either

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u/A_Binary_Number Dec 16 '24

Not really, this is metallic/elemental mercury, outside the fumes when it’s hot, it’s pretty much harmless, unless you ingest it, and even then it isn’t that poisonous, you’ll need to drink a lot of mercury to get mercury poisoning, but you’ll be long dead from ingesting a heavy metal that is pooling in your digestive system.

What you’re probably thinking is Dimethyl Mercury or Organic Mercury, it’s colorless and highly flammable, and this one can be absorbed by your skin.

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u/Informal_Process2238 Dec 16 '24

Thanks for the education, I was joking about how people say food coloring is poison and only used the mercury as a misdirection.