Amalgams - Periodic Table of Videos

[tvalerianopereira]

Do you really need the magnetic bar to stir the mercury? I think it will stir alone, by MHD.

[bloodscale3]

Well hello there Debbie, I've got my ion you lol

[siroatmeal]

cool video :) thank you

[Boredom2989]

Calm it you randy chemistry lovers ;) We don't all need to know your feelings for debbie!

[andrewkiwi100]

@noahboa9258 Yeah it was one gram.

[noahboa9258]

@andrewkiwi100 wow, sodium's pretty light

[andrewkiwi100]

@noahboa9258 The earlier in the periodic table an element is, the lighter it weighs. Sodium is the third-lightest metal, after lithium and beryllium, but sodium is much more common than both of those.

[noahboa9258]

@andrewkiwi100 well yeah i know that, but i didnt expect it to be THAT light :)

[zombiesarescary]

thats one ugly ass tooth

[engelteir]

whats the gas that comes of as it dissolves?

[andrewkiwi100]

@engelteir I was wondering what the gas produced was myself. Then I thought it might just be that the reaction is exothermic so the liquid bubbles like it's boiling... not sure though.

[oomblikkies]

Why is mercury a liquid?

[Aviatorsmith]

@oomblikkies Mercury's outer shell is a 6s orbital. Since the s orbital is extremely close to the nucleus, it is tightly bound by it. This causes a "reluctance" for the mercury to release electrons necessary for metallic bonding and thus causes the bonds between mercury atoms to be very weak. This weak bond allows mercury to be liquid at room temperature.

[Aviatorsmith]

@oomblikkies If you are unsure about spdf notation, you should be below GCSE A-level standard and a simpler explanation is just that the electrons in mercury are not fully used in bonding. A lower energy bond brings about a lower melting and boiling point.

[KittySN]

Debbie's lab coat has seen plenty of action!

[itsmanofpopsicle]

Anyone else see the really grubby guy at 5:55?

[pctiu]

of course he has a weding ring, he's THE professor

[OOZ662]

5:55 Ohai Jack Black

[ezasad]

That lab coat needs a dunk in H2O and a surfactant ;)

[MackTuesday]

A redhead chemist with dimples... I'm in love.

[MackTuesday]

Sodium:  A little stickier than roast beef.

[Seth1210]

any one notice shes wearing  a wedding ring when handling mercury

[ConorC96]

Could you also do a bit on distilling mercury.

[punishedexistence]

High Pressure sodium lamps use a mercury-sodium amalgam, the mercury allows the arc to be more uniform, plus it is in a less reactive form than pure sodium. By the way for those who don't know, sodium lamps are the yellow streetlights. She forgot to mention that little use of Na/Hg. Very cool demonstration though! Thanks.

[isrealjason]

very good looking scientist at your collage, i wanna go there.. guess that's y the prof's wife THINKS he's a chemist

[isrealjason]

very good looking scientist at your collage, i wanna go there

[MercuryExposure]

interesting video, but a HUGE disservice by incorrectly stating that not a lot of mercury is released from dental amalgam fillings.

In the Executive Summary of this document (WHO 2003), WHO clearly states “Dental amalgam constitutes a potentially significant source of exposure to elemental mercury, with estimates of daily intake from amalgam restorations ranging from 1 to 27 μg/day.”

Placing and Removing amalgams improperly exposes the patient to HUGE amounts of mercury vapor

[ijunkie]

Thank you for zooming in on that fantastic looking tooth. I think I will not eat another snickers again.

[TechXMarine]

My science teacher was talking about how she dipped her wedding ring into mercury to demonstrate that gold is very unreactive

she didn't understand why the ring changed colour and put it down to her ring not being pure gold

i only just saw this video a few weeks after leaving year 10 D: she'll never know

[TheMaxcooldude]

i love his hair

[gaswerti]

your handling mercury and you have a wedding ring OH NO

[TheIonlycomment]

...mercury IS bad for you.

But you are ignoring the fact that we all are constantly exposed to mercury, tuna fish for example has mercury in it and so do vaccines.

Things which I think we all take, except if you are some paranoid loony, In which case disregard this comment It will only make things worse for you.

[pepsibookcat]

The Professor has mentioned in earlier videos that his wife is from a scientific family. So, sacrificing romance for lab safety is likely not an unusual concept for her. That said, awwwwww, it is a little bit sad nonetheless.

*cringes at all the dental talk* *shiver* No, thank you. I'll keep my cavity free, amalgam free, dentist avoiding teeth, please! *shudders from odontophobia*

[lexichronicle2]

mercury ions stall the growth cones in your brain, and are hard to remove (they don't metabolize out). i'm sure filling aren't too bad, but i doubt they're a brilliant idea if there are alternatives. amalgams are also useful for chemistry because they activate self passivating metals into injecting electrons into other compounds. drug labs use tinfoil / mercury salts to aminate the amphetAMINES (speed / ecstasy / meth etc). think about that when you're handed a colourful heap of drugs. :P

[TheTork]

Smart chicks are HOT!. too bas she is wearing a wedding ring. especially while handling mercury :)

[AVincent2]

Is that a mercury mist that arises when the sodium dissolves?

[AVincent2]

Funny how many things go wrong in this video, getting stuck to the tape and the scalpel snapping off. I'm glad they kept this in the final cut it made it much better.

[alchimistenz]

... everyone), the long time over which the fillings leach out place a ceiling on exposure. Not so with those who go and get their fillings removed... and in the process, inhale more mercury vapour in a single minute than they would have otherwise consumed over thirty years. Yes, let us all avoid mercury like the plague. I mean, it's not like heavy metal poisoning is treatable or anything... oh wait.

[lexichronicle2]

@alchimistenz cancer is treatable too. would you like a sniff of some PCBs?

[alchimistenz]

All people wanting to ban mercury fillings shows me is that they understand neither chemistry nor biology. Mercury is bioaccumulative... but this does not mean that small amounts over a long period of time is bad for you; it means that any amount you consume is stored in your body for a long period of time. As such, inhaling a large amount at one time is FAR worse for you than small amounts over a longer period; though people with amalgam fillings will have some mercury in their system (like...)

[kvive72]

i wonder whose teeth was that and what did he/she eat!!!!!!!!!

[Gmc42082]

small amounts of mercury will not hurt you unless you're sensitive to it. not only is it used in filling,its also used as a preservative in some medicines,like vaccinations. the people who get "go insane" are people who are exposed to large amounts, like hatters back in the day, and people who made Ormolu clocks.

[Randommelon]

By the way, what is the maximum amount of sodium that can be dissolved in the mercury?

[lthnnpwr]

Debbie is hot!

[fetalbetal]

The CDC released a statement declaring dental amalgam to be the main contributor of mercury in the human body. Preganant women and children under six aren't allowed to receive these fillings, yet a 7 year old can have 11 of them. Saying these fillings aren't dangerous is harmful to public health and awareness. You would think common sense would tell us the most toxic non-radioactive substance is not for a place for our mouth. What rules everything around you? Money.

[Randommelon]

Mercury is by FAR not the most toxic non-radioactive substance, particularly in its metallic form. Examples include Botulinum Toxin, various organophosphates such as VX, Batrachotoxin, etc...

Organomercury compounds like Dimethylmercury may be extremely toxic, but even if they were "the most toxic non-radioative substance", that is still totally different to metallic mercury.

[fetalbetal]

There are other ways to fix teeth, mercury, in any form, should not be in our bodies. I'm aware that there are trace amounts in water and food but that's not the issue. Adding more and polluting our systems is bad, it will store in our cells forever.

[barkulator]

MORE DEBBIE

[olishant]

I like the way the crazy haired professor talks. :3

[HairLikeCottonCandy]

What is the grey mist that forms?  Gaseous mercury?

[HairLikeCottonCandy]

Nevermind, it is gaseous mercury (mercury vapor), so says the post farther down the line.

[W1049]

Is there a list of all periodic elements that are soluble or will amalgamate with mercury? I read that iron and platinum are the only elements that will not amalgamate with mercury. Why is this the case?

[culwin]

Watch out, there's a creepy guy staring at you at 5:54

[wrnchhead76]

No kidding lol. wth!

[muhkuh77]

Liquid Hg and no fume hood - crazy Nottingham chemist ;)

[metalheadrowi]

What is the gas, that's been formedd when she drops the sodium into the mercury? Is this gaseous mercury?

[humanentropy]

yes its called mercury vapor.

[leokimvideo]

Again great video, really well done bringing this to the tube

[8bitlove2a03]

I love how a bunch of seemingly well-educated people sat here arguing with each other over amalgam fillings when it doesn't matter at all. And we wonder why normal people don't listen to the scientific community when it warns them about real dangers. I don't know what you lot do for a living, but stay out of science. Fools who make scientific debate personal have no purpose in the field.

[PosVibeMerc]

"Well she thinks I'm a Chemist" HA! You cat you!

[jnrolf]

Not!

[saintaureus]

I'm glad you mentioned that the mercury doesn't leach from amalgam fillings in harmful quantities. There has been a lot of pseudoscience surrounding this issue and it's good to see that you didn't sidestep it. Thank you.

[alcany]

Smart girls turn me on, and intimidate me.

[gnrfanatic141414]

not me...

[Wonin6billion]

Yeah.. there's something decidedly kinky about Debbies dirty labcoat! LOL I always thought their whites were always well... white... One thing though, at least you can tell who's been doing the most work!! :)

[jnrolf]

My dentists WILL NOT use amalgams! Thank GOD!

[Wonin6billion]

What's God got to do with it? o_O

[kellogsdie]

i liked the part where ths student removed his fillings and put plastic ones insted

[seustaceRotterdam]

Great! Blue Peter for chemists, "Here is one I made earlier" Interesting to see you using Hexane which is virtually banned in industry where I work.

[SuperFinGuy]

She's absolutely gorgeous and YAY brains!!

[Draxis32]

I though dentists didnt used amalgams anymore.

Then i was wrong.

But i think i've read somewhere that the fillings that they use today are more resistant than the teeths itselfs.

[sakura101avalon]

I hate to break it to you, but the mercury in teeth fillings /does/ harm you. :)

[johnclavis]

What's your evidence? Screeds on crackpot "alternative medicine" websites? It must be pretty small harm, given how many people have amalgam fillings and how little it seems to do. I'm not aware of an epidemic of people dropping dead in the street because of their fillings! LOL!

[SuperFinGuy]

Good point johnclavis, what's the scientific evidence of people perishing from amalgam fillings?! Mercury is used so much out of context these days, in the wrong situation and amount even oxygen can be a poison.

[v8media]

Show me a way to test for interactions of hundreds of chemicals on your body at once from pollution, fillings, plastic packaging and tons more, I'll show you proof or disproof. Since it's impossible to test for the reactions of all of the chemicals your body is currently interacting with, I'd instead ask for the removal of likely dangerous compounds until proven safe instead. Much more crackpot to ignore possible harm to the planet or the plants and animals living here.

[SuperFinGuy]

That is ignorance. We are only talking about mercury here and it's certainly possible to test for the reactions of chemicals. The sciences are called chemistry and molecular biology. Look it up. In this case there is no harm. It is impossible and illogical to prove a negative though, have you considered that the reason you can't find a harm is because, there is no harm?! If you make a claim the burden of proof is on your shoulders.

[SuperFinGuy]

If not then I can say there is a a deadly invisible meteor coming our way, hey it is impossible to know all the rocks out there and you can't prove me wrong so let's all go underground until proven otherwise.

[HairLikeCottonCandy]

Um yes, it is possible to test for reactions of chemicals, but let me cast some doubt on your assurances. How many people (if any) are tested for all the possible negative chemical reactions out there (mercury included), and secondly are there not limits to these tests?

If something is toxic in theory then lets find an alternative to it unless we can improve on the theory.

[fetalbetal]

You are claiming mercury fillings are safe. The FDA and CDC disagrees with you. Science is not on your side anymore, at least as far as this issue is concerned. I recommend that you investigate this issue further or provide me proof since the burden is on you.

[CoolMinty]

Very interesting stuff as usual. Thanks ;) Have you any name suggestions for the newly discovered 112 element?

[periodicvideos]

@CoolMinty

We'll be posting The Professor's thoughts on this in the next 24 hours!

[jjovereats]

@periodicvideos I would be asking Mr./Prof. Poliakov about whether his paternal grandfather was English or not. :@~

[TableWolfMusic]

I've got an experiment for you, Debs.

How about boil washing that Lab Coat?

Hypothesis:

The washing machine will die.

[flach99]

well actualy chemists almost never wash their lab coats, because as soon as you do wash it you get only schreds out of the washing machine. thats chemistry for ya.

[bbsonjohn]

What are the gas released during dissolution?

[St00sh13]

Very interesting. I always thought an amalgum was just a mixture of the two elements rather like an alloy. I didn't realise there was a chemical reaction.

[TheStephenation]

There is not a chemical reaction. The video did not say that.

[St00sh13]

"Debs" did say it was an exothermic reaction and that is why the glass container got warm.

[TheStephenation]

Yeah, actually that was an oversimplification on my part. Generally, an exothermic reaction occurs when chemical bonds are being formed. That isn't exactly the case here, even though it is exothermic. In an amalgam, mercury and another metal form structures, but the length between the atoms is greater than it is with covalent bonds. So instead of reactants > products + heat, as in an exothermic chemical reaction, it's metals > metals held closely together + heat. Pretty close though, I guess.

[TheStephenation]

Also, in the particular case of sodium, the structure is pretty compact, with sodium atoms grouping with two mercury atoms. It would be rather arbitrary not to call that a chemical structure. It's different from the ones I'm used to, but it's there.

[St00sh13]

Cool, thanks for the explanation.

[voiceofreason2008]

there is a reaction you can quite clearly see there is a reaction!

[TheOptickid]

OMG that chemist is hot! and I am not talking about the one with the funky hair.

[DrBones666]

My chem profs used to say how they used to be up to their elbows and armpits with hexane and bromine and nothing ever happened to them. They're still carcinogenic and mercury is still a neurotoxin.

[TheStephenation]

Hexane is not a known carcinogen. Neither is bromine, for that matter, but it's highly corrosive anyway.

[kpshc707]

lol at 1:22

[jarjarbinks77]

LOL, he said the mercury dissolves slowly, so it doesn't "really" hurt people.

Keyword really.

[DrBones666]

It sublimates. It can be detected with a mercury vapor meter.

Mercury is a neurotoxin at low doses so sorry prof. On this you are wrong.

[paranorma1palace]

still loving the proffs head!!!!

and the periodic table

thx

[alcany]

Smart girls turn me on/ intimidat me.

[tiapon]

''she thinks im a chemist'' lol!

[IWantLandingSnow]

I Love The Professor ^^

Chemistry<3 ^_^

[sporkafife]

Teehee, she said crud XD. Sorry, I'm a very juvenile person :). It was a cool video and the Prof's hair is as amazing as ever!

[archaedemos]

they bathe soy beans in Hexane before we eat it. Awesome!!!

[Stiebel]

But Debbie does wear her (wedding)ring in the lab!

5*

[austenwack]

In most of the offices in the united states they don't use mercury any more, they just do the plastic ones now...

[wodnerduck]

the uk has dentists??

[cjpendleton1993]

Ha Ha funny, not.

I dont understand why people dont think brits have dentists...

[hugohugo37]

Wait a second....they do?

[grnlfe01]

I think this rumour can only come from the fact that in the US dentist alway try to make everyones teeth as perfectly symetrical as possible because the fashion is to have a smile like Juila Roberts. Where as here most NHS dentists will do the bear minimum required to keep teeth in order. So sometimes you get interestingly shaped teeth formation.

[doverlin]

Brains + Cute = Scintillating Video

She could expound on polymers and I'd learn via osmosis.

[woodesroger]

sodium is very reactive, and it DOES react with argon, but as you stated argon is inert, but there is still a small amount of reactivity, just not as noticeable :)

[Wonin6billion]

Although chemistry aint my bag , I'm still fascinated by it. Is it possible that the heat generated by the exothermic reaction between Mercury and Sodium could ignite the Hexane vapour that would be swirling around in the local atmosphere, hence the Argon, which is also playing a part in not oxidising the sodium?

[Wonin6billion]

The nerd in me just checked the flashpoint of hexane which is -23.33 deg C, I imagine a small amount of that vapour in a confined space like that could cause quite a bang should it have access to the third part of the triangle. Obviously not enough to blast the lab to bits but enough to possibly rupture the container and cause a complicated mess to clean up afterwards.

[Neilidity]

Sodium can ignite hexane, especially in humid air (I have seen it happen) but there is no danger here as argon is heavier than air so excludes all oxygen even with the open top). Another thing: hexane evaporates rapidly and it only takes a few seconds of waving the sodium around on your tweezers for most of it to evaporate away. As we would hope, her technique is quite safe.

[TheStephenation]

Sodium does not react with argon.

[sharperguy]

IS that where the word amalgamation comes from?

[woodesroger]

i believe so :)

[LaughinWarheads]

ah! that makes so much sense, thank you!

do you know what the smoke stuff was that fizzed when the sodium reacted with the mercury

[ThatGuyFromAustria]

I guess the Hexane that vapourized when the Sodium got dissolved + some Sodium because of the exothermic reaction. Mind that you don't need much metal vapour to get such a layer on the glass.

[LaughinWarheads]

oh ok, got it.

[SalchichaPolaca]

ohh shes so pretty =3

[Jtking3000]

^_^ what fun

[UkrainkaIvanka]

That's good to know re: teeth fillings because I got 2 fillings when I was quite young in Poland - which I guess wasn't THAT long ago since I'm 26. I was kind of scared about that poisoning me lol :P :)

[jalgjalg]

I absolutely love these videos!

[NAMLegolas]

Wow, I didn't know you could dissolve metals into mercury! Nice video! Thanks

[LaughinWarheads]

why was there argon gas with the mercury? Is that the gas that fizzed out when the sodium went in?

[ranjitechno]

Nice video once again, excellent work, team!

[TheaViridis]

Very nice video!

I had no idea what an amalgam really was. Very informative.

[itsabomberscope]

Re - Teeth: Small amounts of mercury vapour are produced by amalgams every time you chew your food. Rather than risk any potential neuro toxic effects from mercury, I think the dental industry should move on to wiser alternatives. Also I think different people have different tolerances to small levels of mercury. Great vid.

[GetMeThere1]

So how does one get one's metal OUT of an amalgam, if one chooses. I know they must be able to do it with gold, because mercury to form an amalgam is (or was) used is small-scale gold mining

[bionerd23]

lol Debbie, i never cut my sunday roast with a SCALPEL, but nice idea. :-)

i once mixed gallium and mercury, and it produced a horrible, stain-leaving but liquid (at room temp) mess. i dont suppose this could be of any use, now could it? =)

[schumannsch]

aww, these nerds are the coolest.

[Paxmax]

soo much.. poisonous material... o.o

Fzzzt! I bet those fumes could kill you... slowly...

[BassmasterBling]

What do they do with that mixture after they are finished?

[greeneyedgeek]

what's that grayish cloud that appears when u start or stop the magnetic stirrer?

[TableWolfMusic]

If you are referring to the fizz that happens when sodium is dropped in, I believe that this is mercury evaporating as a consequence of the heat generated from the exothermic reaction. This may cause the mercury vapour to condense into grey droplets in a mist, before falling back into the liquid compound. That is what I think the greyish cloud is.

I'm also guessing the hexane liquid coating each chunk evaporates. So, I think that the crud she describes is a mixture oxidised sodium and hexane.

[calvinhobbesliker2]

Mercury boils at 674 degrees F. I don't think THAT much heat wes generated.

[TableWolfMusic]

calvinhobbesliker2 I never said the mercury boiled. I said that it was evaporating. Enough energy can be transferred between molecules to form a vapour in liquids far below their boiling point. This is why you can see a mist in your breath on a cold day.

At room temp mercury gives of toxic fumes, and so one must be careful not to inhale.

I imagine quite a lot of heat is generated but it is dispersed quite readily. This is why I anticipate that the surplus energy is enough to cause evaporation.

[Wizard4592]

cool, these videos are evolving from just mere elements to interesting reactions,

I'd like to see some organic chemistry, and pH experiments

[Chipsonfire]

So THAT's what an amalgam is. I knew the word, but didn't know what it meant.

[jacoman1234567]

Hmmm, you're pooring hexane into your cup like that, I thought i was kind of neurotoxic. We can only use hexane in a fume hood at my school.

[superdau]

It is neurotoxic if chronically exposed (e. g. see the effects on solvent abusers).

[dionstrezlecki]

"So they dont really harm people (amalgam fillings)" -100% incorrect :)

How wise of Mark.

[ooohpie]

79th

[Sharkness77]

No worries, mercury amalgams in fillings make no impact on your brain or body

[gerstners]

Then why does OSHA require dentists to dispose of amalgams as toxic wastes?

[williamkendrick]

@gerstners because in a dentists specific case, if he had to differentiate between the two, it would quickly make disposing of such chemicals a seriously expensive task.

[gerstners]

"the two"? What "two" are you talking about?

[T1carus]

Make a film about what happens to waste chemicals from experiments :)

[periodicvideos]

I edit these films and check they have uploaded to YouTube correctly before making them public.... so technically I am always first! :)

[DidntKnowWhatToPut1]

Lol

[jkand]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO-OOOoooooo!!

.

Anyways..

.

bye bye

[ArtificialCleverenAI]

I asked a questiion a while ago but havent' had an answer yet. Have you managed to find out how much power the superconducting magnet consumes? I'd really, really, really, REALLY like to know! :)

[periodicvideos]

@ArtificialCleverenAI: Sorry I don't know this... However I do know if the superconducting magnet in the university's biggest MRI scanner is switched off, it costs £30,000 to re-start it!!!! Unsurprisingly, they leave it on 24 hours a day.