- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Nerd Boner: Watch a bit of mercury consume gold
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:26 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:26 am
7
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:30 am to Roaad
Uhhhh, they just pissed away money right there.
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 12:42 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:31 am to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:
Uhhhh, they just pissed away lots of potential money right there.
Yeah, they should have put BitCoin on the mercury instead.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:32 am to HailHailtoMichigan!
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:38 am to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:You can buy a pack of 25 gold leaf sheets just like those for less than $50 on amazon.
Uhhhh, they just pissed away lots of potential money right there.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:42 am to Korkstand
quote:Gotcha. Couldn't tell at first that it was thin sheets.
You can buy a pack of 25 gold leaf sheets just like those for less than $50 on amazon.
Alas, I am still a frugal person and wouldn't even waste that on an experiment.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:50 am to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:
Alas, I am still a frugal person and wouldn't even waste that on an experiment.
Same here, I hate those souvenir penny smashers, and not just because they cost a quarter to use.
But yeah gold leaf is thin. Like 0.000005" thin. My rough calculations put the value of actual gold in a 3" X 3" sheet at about 65 cents. The majority of the cost of the packs you buy is for the forming and packaging.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:59 am to HailHailtoMichigan!
Could it not be reversed? Can you destroy an element or just transform the state, allowable to be transformed back?
Posted on 1/10/19 at 1:04 am to Montezuma
quote:Yes it can, it just makes a mixture basically. Mercury is actually used to help mine gold.
Could it not be reversed?
quote:
Since at least the time of the ancient Romans, mercury has been used in the mining of gold and silver. Precious metals are usually found in nature among sand and mud and mixed with other nonmetallic elements like sulfur, a problem for miners to which mercury literally was the solution. Gold dissolves in mercury similar to the way salt dissolves in water. Miners submerged their ore in mercury, which would take on the gold but not the other impurities. The mixture of mercury and gold would then be recollected and heated until the mercury boiled away. A simple still like those used to make alcohol would draw away the vaporized mercury, possibly collecting it for reuse, leaving mostly pure gold. Though the gold would have to be refined later for greater purity, the amalgamation with mercury allowed the efficient extraction of gold from poor-quality ores that were not economical by other means.
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 1:06 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 1:13 am to Montezuma
quote:
Could it not be reversed?
Usually there's energy involved too. For example, hydrogen and oxygen will gladly combine to produce water if you put them together with an open flame. If you want to go the other way around (produce hydrogen and oxygen from water) it takes lots of energy.
In the case of mercury and gold, it's not only possible to reverse the process but it's routinely used in gold mining. Basically they pour mercury over gold ore and then reverse the output to get the pure gold.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 1:25 am to Roaad
The old mines here used stamp mills that crushed the ore, which would then wash over Mercury coated plates. It would separate the gold from rich and other minerals.
They would then use cyanide on the ore to further precipitate the gold.
Fascinating process
They would then use cyanide on the ore to further precipitate the gold.
Fascinating process
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 1:32 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 5:15 am to Roaad
I watched mercury slowly destroy my first wedding band. A jeweler tried to burn it off (very dangerous) and polished it clean, but it came back. Once it’s gets on it, it’s like a cancer.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 6:01 am to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:
Uhhhh, they just pissed away money right there.
About $5 worth of gold leaf.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 6:52 am to RogerTheShrubber
quote:
Mercury coated plates.
quote:
cyanide
Sounds safe.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 7:06 am to Roaad
My dad did this to his wedding ring many decades ago. He was a pharm rep, and literally got his hands on some mercury, and noticed it made his ring really shiny. So of course the logical thing to do was to submerge the ring in mercury for a bit. What went in as yellow gold came out silver. Needless to say, mom was pissed
Posted on 1/10/19 at 7:23 am to The Nino
quote:Pics?
Needless to say, mom was pissed
Come on, you’ve been here almost a decade...
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 7:24 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 7:25 am to Roaad
I wonder if the planet Mercury is named that for a reason since gold can only be created from the death of a star.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 8:40 am to Placebeaux
quote:
I wonder if the planet Mercury is named that for a reason since gold can only be created from the death of a star.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 9:45 am to RogerTheShrubber
quote:
The old mines here used stamp mills that crushed the ore, which would then wash over Mercury coated plates. It would separate the gold from rich and other minerals.
They would then use cyanide on the ore to further precipitate the gold.
I bet those workers had some serious medical issues
They then ate their lunch with lead utensils and had shower loofas made of asbestos.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 9:58 am to TheCaterpillar
quote:
bet those workers had some serious medical issues
Most likely. They were also some of the highest paid laborers in the world.
The sand and dust from the mills created a recreational beach though, and its perfectly safe. I walk a trail through the ruins almost every day, its fascinating stuff
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News