Mercury metal for barometer

Another material that has a Duty of Care handling notice and special disposal requirements. You'd be lucky to find any outside of a workshop or uni these days.

My late stepfather used to bring us the stuff home to play with! he worked on vacuum pumps at Mullards valve factory in Mitcham.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Web:

Christopher Tidy wrote: > Anyone know where I might lay my

I have a friend who restores old clocks for a living, and barometers are a bit of a sideline. I asked him why he buys "new" mercury, rather than recycling used stuff. He said it's difficult to get it really clean, and even small impurities can spoil the look of a column of Hg in a glass tube.

Labpakchemicals stock it at £14.34/500g

I had my eyes on a Darton Kew barometer that was being scrapped at work. I had been told that I could have it, but I think that It may have been officially disposed of before I could ferret it away :-(

Mark Rand RTFM

It's even simpler to shake mercury and nitric acid together in a suitably strong vessel, then separate them, rinse with water, separate again, then filter.

Cliff.

Hmm. Doesn't sound like anyone has any mercury they want to sell. Pity. By the way, I'm aware of the dangers. If anyone wants to dispose of a substantial quantity I'd be happy to sign a document absolving them of any responsiblity for what I do with it!

Best wishes,

Chris