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Have you always wanted to play with mercury, but then you remember it’s not possible? Well, you can get some Gallium instead, at places like Amazon. (I saw some for as little as $3, depending on how much you need and which seller you purchase it from.)
When you get it, it comes in a solid state.
Then, after some finagling, it melts at around 85 degrees, so it will soften in your hand.
It’ll look like a liquid mirror. Pretty cool, right? You can then play with it or pour it or make art with it…
In fact, Gallium is one of four metals that can be liquid around room temperature, the other metals being mercury, rubidium, and cesium.
It’s a non-toxic, non-transition metal that’s brittle when solid and expands when it freezes. It’s perfect for art projects, because of the way it sticks to surfaces, like wet glass.
And you can do a lot with it—from making thermostats to resembling a mirror if painted onto glass. It bonds with other metals effortlessly, and gallium nitride and gallium arsenide are helpful when making semiconductors and LEDs. It also helps with scans in finding infections or cancer. What can’t Gallium do, right?
You can watch more about Gallium here at Business Insider, as well as check out the video above, which shows why you should never put Gallium on your iPhone (even though we know you’re smart enough not to). However, it’s a great demonstration of how powerful Gallium is, so use it wisely.