YellowNumberFive
- Science
The Amazing Rusting Aluminum
Unless you are a representative of a national meteorological bureau licensed to carry a barometer (and odds are you’re not), bringing mercury onboard an airplane is strictly forbidden. Why? If it got loose, it could rust the plane to pieces before it had a chance to land. You see, airplanes are made of aluminum, and aluminum is highly unstable.
3.17.2009 at 11:29pm - Comment by YellowNumberFiveMercury will not amalgamate with oxidized aluminum, and all the aluminum on an aircraft should have a fresh oxide layer on it. The only way for Hg to begin forming an amalgum is if it gets into a very fresh scratch or crack in the Al, as Al oxidizes readily in air. IF that happened, a single drop still wouldn't cause any significant damage. As the Al amalgamates it forms feather like wisps when it contacts O2 in the air. This flakes off, and takes some of the Hg with it, effectively cleansing the wound of Hg over time. So no, breaking a thermometer on a plane won't destroy it.
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December 2009: Best of What's New
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