Mercury Vapors and stuff.

My cousin very recently gave me his jar of Mercury, which he accumulated as a teenager from breaking open thermometers, barometers, and other things. I figured it was probably just collecting dust and being a future disposal problem, so I took it off his hands.

It came back to my place double-bagged in plastic to contain any spills, but I wondered if there was any vapor coming through the container, or even through the bags... so I waited until the making of this video to take it out just to be sure...

Music: The Perfect Drug (Binary Audio Mix)
Original: Nine Inch Nails. Remixed by Binary Audio.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Mercury
• metal
• Hg
• vapor
• shortwave
• ultraviolet
• AScannerClearly
• intensifier
• screen

[endimion17]

I've noticed you have no skin protection, and somehow I tend to believe your face isn't shielded either. I hope you used at least eye protection.

It's a VERY stupid thing to do.You've turned on two SW UV tubes for several minutes, and you stand close to them. Please, use protective clothing when exposing yourself to this kind of radiation.

Otherwise, great video. Lots of people have no idea about this. It reminds me of bromine, althought bromine fumes are indeed much more plentiful.

[AScannerClearly]

Yes, I did have eye protection, but during my many years of using SW UV radiation, sometimes using it hours on end, I've never once developed any skin irritation or burns whatsoever. My eyes are still quite capable of resolving very low-light emissions from my other experiments my own cameras with a 30-second exposure cannot see. Simple common sense use of SW UV presents no danger.

Just think of how many minutes people lay bathed in SW UV in tanning booths with lamps much stronger than mine!

[morganhv]

where did you get your short wave uv light?

[AScannerClearly]

A semi-local lapidary shop called Gary's Gem Garden.

[morganhv]

would a UV germicidal lamp work?

[AScannerClearly]

Hmm, I haven't actually tried it... I mean it's a germicidal lamp inside of my light there, but it also comes with a filter to cut down most of the visible light too... it's possible a bare germicidal lamp could do it too, but certainly a filtered one will work.

[rickster348]

so if your going to play with it, do it in a well ventilated area-?

[chrisgj198]

i am pretty scared of those germicidal UV tubes, I tried erasing some eproms in the sun in Australia. Erasing the eproms took more than a week in the sun, but only 90 seconds with the germicidal tube. That amount of sun would have burned my skin several times over, so i am scared of those tubes and never let that UV hit my skin when i play with them. I think some sheets of glass will block the UV without stopping you see the experiment. (and i would wear long sleeves and gloves of course.)

[endimion17]

Tanning booths use UV-A and UV-B.

Shortwave ultraviolet is UV-C, germicidal.

I own a germicidal tube and it clearly states that maximum daily dosage of SW radiation is received during one minute exposure at the distance od 30 cm away from the tube. I never even approach those values.

Read some articles on kinds of ultraviolet radiation, and please use protection.

[AScannerClearly]

Yep, eventually it'll all evaporate, unless kept in an air-tight container. It evaporates much much slower than water though, so I wonder what water vapors would look like if we could view them in the same manner.