Distilling Mercury Metal

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  • Опубликовано: 25 ноя 2016
  • UPDATE: It was brought to my attention a much much better way to store it. The mercury should be put in the bottle without adding water. The bottle is then stored in a bag full of sulfur. Storing it under water will inevitably lead to it becoming all gross again.
    Okay, I am finally posting the mercury distillation video. This was obviously dangerous to do, so please don't try to repeat what you see here!
    Previous cleaning video: • Cleaning liquid mercur...
    Strawpoll for video after dibenzalacetone: www.strawpoll.me/11734553
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    Nile talks about lab safety: • Chemistry is dangerous.
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Комментарии • 1,4 тыс.

  • @bas2362
    @bas2362 6 лет назад +4002

    a Hug without u is just toxic

  • @stephensmith8812
    @stephensmith8812 7 лет назад +1541

    "I did it because i thought it would look cool" that is what I love to hear.

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +313

      It's the best reason!

    • @stephensmith8812
      @stephensmith8812 7 лет назад +8

      NileRed how old are you if you don't mind my asking?

    • @samrosiak7464
      @samrosiak7464 7 лет назад

      Windows NT Workstation 4.0 same

    • @JadenYukifan28
      @JadenYukifan28 4 года назад +2

      @@NileRed I was wondering where you were doing these experiments and now I know

    • @samalbury9183
      @samalbury9183 4 года назад +5

      @@stephensmith8812 my guess is between 20 and 24, in one of his videos he said that he started while in collage

  • @Von_Hohenheim
    @Von_Hohenheim 7 лет назад +2714

    NileRed "Be very careful" Cody's Lab "i dont think i have any cuts on my arm, lets dunk it into a few hundred pounds of mercury"

    • @theshuman100
      @theshuman100 7 лет назад +453

      Nile red be like, "don't want non of those mercury vapours being inhaled"
      Codys like watch me flush all this mercury down a toilet.

    • @RonJohn63
      @RonJohn63 6 лет назад +383

      Cody even got a blood test to see how much he'd absorbed. The answer was "none".

    • @savvapouroullis7927
      @savvapouroullis7927 6 лет назад +6

      lel

    • @crackedemerald4930
      @crackedemerald4930 6 лет назад +113

      The skin is fucking badass

    • @gorepuppy
      @gorepuppy 6 лет назад +214

      Most of us played with as a kid in school. Elemental mercury is not likely to do much unless you have wounds and even then it is not as risky as folks scream about. There are compounds of mercury that will kill the shit out of you with even one drop on your hand. Not elemental mercury though. The danger comes from water soluble compounds and ones with an attached methyl group, compounds like mercuric chloride or the massively scary dimethylmercury. Though breathing any metal fumes to include mercury is super bad juju.

  • @aretard7995
    @aretard7995 3 года назад +85

    "I took a shot of what remained in the distillation flask"
    -NileRed, November 27, 2016

    • @Tubluer
      @Tubluer 3 года назад +3

      RIP lol

  • @trenvert123
    @trenvert123 3 года назад +166

    I'm reminded of the researcher who accidentally spilt 1 or 2 drops of soluble mercury on her gloved hands, and her balance coordination, speech, and memory all deteriorated over the next few months before she ultimately passed away. It was so sad, like she knew she was going to die, and leave her family behind, but she was powerless to stop it. And, the hero that she is, she dedicated her few remaining days to educating others on the proper handling of soluble mercury, so no one else would suffer her same fate. Her name was Karen Wetterhahn, and she was exposed to dimethylmercury.

    • @iguessyoucouldcallitconten8568
      @iguessyoucouldcallitconten8568 2 года назад +10

      She will never be forgotten to me, thank you for educating me on this

    • @tz4601
      @tz4601 2 года назад +45

      The really tragic part of that case is she followed the safety practices of the time to complete accuracy. The standards were just flat out wrong about how long it would take dimethylmercury to penetrate latex gloves -- i.e., about 15 seconds. It's not like she was being sloppy or careless with safety.

    • @drizzt495
      @drizzt495 2 года назад +33

      That's organomercury. Very different than elemental mercury. The major risk here are RCRA regulations and emissions violations (captured on camera).

    • @drizzt495
      @drizzt495 2 года назад +5

      @@tz4601 Breakthrough data for organometallics is not rare to find. The only thing that is rare is breakthrough data for leached material that experiences a phase change (aka the metal component becomes a gas temporarily before condensing back to a liquid). In the case of organometallic mercury, the breakthrough studies are very well understood. This is why "silvershield" type gloves exist.

    • @bigredone1030
      @bigredone1030 Год назад

      It’s only mercury bro

  • @Redspeciality
    @Redspeciality 5 лет назад +109

    I wish I’d had the internet 30 years ago. I worked for a spotwelding company that had these old, large electronic glass tubes filled with mercury. I broke them open and collected 35 pounds worth, put it in a plastic coffee container and stored it on the floor in the basement. A couple years later I noticed the plastic had cracked, and about 20 lbs worth was missing. It either evaporated or spilled between the foundation and house wall into the soil. Now I know it was pretty stupid and I’m lucky I wasnt seriously poisoned

    • @petragris1947
      @petragris1947 2 года назад +28

      You should let the EPA know so that the current owner can have it remediated. That is incredibly dangerous. Wow.

    • @archkull
      @archkull 2 года назад +6

      @@petragris1947 Bit late after 30 years

    • @petragris1947
      @petragris1947 2 года назад +15

      @@archkull Someone lives in that home, and it may still be contaminated.

    • @sethreign8103
      @sethreign8103 Год назад

      @@archkull the irresponsibility you're displaying is too typical of 2022. Sad you clearly don't care about the only planet you have to live on enough to call poison control.

    • @MrKotBonifacy
      @MrKotBonifacy Год назад +4

      _I wish I’d had the internet 30 years ago_ well, the wonders of American education, innit? I did not have internet thirty years ago, yet well over forty years back I learned (was taught) about the dangers of mercury, back in my 7th or 8th grade of primary school (chemistry classes). And for a good reason - it was the time when mercury filled "body temperature" thermometers were in wide use (no other fancy gizmos!), and every now and then some of it cracked (by accident) spilling its content inside people's houses.
      But this is not to poke fun at whatever system or an individual, and there are TWO very simple and effective remedies for dealing with small mercury spills.
      Yeah, I know - 20 lbs (9 kg, or 0.7 l/ 22.5 fl oz) IS NOT a small spill, but anyway most of it has evaporated by now - so NOW it is "small", and the very first step (kinda irrelevant now) is to gather back as much of spilled mercury as you can. Then try to locate the bigger cracks where it may heave seeped into (UV light may be of help - check "Looking at Mercury Vapour - Periodic Table of Videos" ruclips.net/video/7ZT7xqwk84E/видео.html
      And then - and this is most important and relevant NOW part - sprinkle the entire floor there with either aluminium powder, or (better still) finely powdered elemental sulphur (that would be "sulfur" in US).
      Spread it all over, use the broom to "push it" to and fro all over the place, so it could get into all cracks and crevices in the floor. Sulphur reacts with mercury at room temperature forming non-volatile mercury sulphide, which is still kinda "unhealthy" but won't do you any harm if left untouched (unlike elemental mercury).
      Aluminium powder works in a similar fashion by forming somewhat non-volatile Al - Hg amalgamate, but then the aluminium becomes prone to further oxidation - so this "trapping"of mercury may not last long (see "Aluminum and Mercury" by Nile Red - ruclips.net/video/IrdYueB9pY4/видео.html).

  • @FloyDJode
    @FloyDJode 4 года назад +285

    "Gonna boil some mercury"
    K
    "Oh also put some glass in it"
    Wat
    "It helps it boil"
    Gotta remember that for some spaghetti

    • @simedinson984
      @simedinson984 4 года назад +23

      the glass functions as boiling stones and reduces the amount of flash boiling

    • @benjammin2020
      @benjammin2020 4 года назад +23

      It's actually really interesting. I make sweet tea a lot (I'm from the south) and to make the tea, I always heat up water in the microwave to boiling. I usually use old glass measuring cup, but we got some brand new pyrex stuff. I put it in the microwave, and it wasn't boiling, so I put it in the microwave longer, and it still wasn't boiling, so I took it out, and the shock of it hitting the counter caused it to boil violently. The reason is, is that there was nowhere for bubbles to start to form on the new glass.

    • @luisp.3788
      @luisp.3788 4 года назад +1

      @@simedinson984 is the word "joke" not a thing in your world

    • @simedinson984
      @simedinson984 4 года назад +14

      @@luisp.3788 oh yea i understood that he wouldnt but glass in his pasta but wasnt sure if he got the point of having it in the mercury

    • @luisp.3788
      @luisp.3788 4 года назад

      @@simedinson984 hm, ok

  • @levibazen608
    @levibazen608 4 года назад +687

    NileRed: "work in a well ventilated area, fumes are dangerous"
    Codyslab: *WHO WANTS TO SEE ME PUT IT IN MY MOUTH*

    • @derekriggs7659
      @derekriggs7659 4 года назад +20

      if you have amalgam fillings in your teeth, then you already have mercury in your mouth

    • @emperortbw402
      @emperortbw402 4 года назад +30

      @@derekriggs7659 Not the same as loose elemental mercury giving of vapors in your mouth. I have ethylmercury injected into my srm on an annual basis, but that doesn't mean it's safento gargle quicksilver.

    • @krisreddish3066
      @krisreddish3066 4 года назад +2

      @@emperortbw402 I mean it is safe to the point they passed it around in elementary school and let us dip our hands it in and play with it. Would have been much worse with ethylmercury that is a water soluble organometal. Gargling it would end you. It is just the dose makes the poison and it has uses in medicine.

    • @MyProjectsTV
      @MyProjectsTV 4 года назад +2

      And my (not chemistry) prof. "If I would have a drop of it on the table, you would have to evacuate the entire lecture hall" xD

    • @tomokokuroki2506
      @tomokokuroki2506 4 года назад

      ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

  • @jacksonbrown1830
    @jacksonbrown1830 5 лет назад +181

    mercury and broken glass, breakfast of champions

    • @nahfid2003
      @nahfid2003 4 года назад +6

      Trying not to imagine their dump after

    • @TheTdw2000
      @TheTdw2000 3 года назад +1

      Welcome to the Salty Spittoon, how tough are ya?

    • @rubywest5166
      @rubywest5166 2 года назад +1

      ...I think I prefer sex tbh

    • @hairybass480
      @hairybass480 2 года назад

      @@rubywest5166 yeah of course but you are still here commenting. 😆

  • @theCodyReeder
    @theCodyReeder 7 лет назад +2479

    More beautiful than expected! The vapor pressure of mercury at room temp is in the range of 10^-6 atm so I wouldn't expect any mercury to have visibly gone into the trap. I think the remaining mercury was shiny because the mercurous oxide decomposes at a fairly low temperature. Also can you tell me why you didn't distill to completion? I know in normal distillations with water, but I cant think of any contaminants that would cross over here. My distillation apparatus is steel and I cannot see inside so I always heat it until the temperature rises above the boiling point of mercury, at which point I know its done. Should I not do that?

  • @TheMrWillje
    @TheMrWillje 4 года назад +291

    "so how did you get mercury poisoning?"
    "I was distilling my own mercury"
    "why"
    "I thought it would be cool"
    Godspeed you magnificent bastard

    • @peronkop
      @peronkop 3 года назад +7

      Mercury poisoning is terrifying.

    • @TheMrWillje
      @TheMrWillje 3 года назад +8

      @Public Commenter comes from the middle English 'God spede you' which means 'God prosper you' ie 'have a prosperous journey' or 'I hope you prosper'

    • @darkshadowsx5949
      @darkshadowsx5949 3 года назад +7

      mercury vapor is the main reason people actually get poisoned.
      absorption of liquid mercury metal is very low even through skin and intestines. excessive prolonged contact will still eventually poison someone though.
      you cant see the vapor which is why its considered highly toxic and a bit exaggerated to the extent you might get the (dont even look at it or your dead) vibe.

    • @darkshadowsx5949
      @darkshadowsx5949 3 года назад

      @Shrimpinf because it sounds cool to them?
      godspeed

  • @eier3252
    @eier3252 4 года назад +155

    *My chemistry teacher:* Put the dilute muriatic acid back under the fume hood, it's extremely toxic
    *This guy:* How to Distill Mercury

    • @pixelrickk9978
      @pixelrickk9978 4 года назад +11

      You think that’s a jump watch codyslab

    • @eier3252
      @eier3252 4 года назад +20

      @@pixelrickk9978 I already ordered my mercury powered toilet

    • @pixelrickk9978
      @pixelrickk9978 4 года назад +5

      TRAS̸H DØVE got mine last week, be careful it’s got some deadly splash back

    • @adrianbustoscarrillo639
      @adrianbustoscarrillo639 3 года назад

      your teacher its right, the muriatic acid, or hydrochloric acid (its the same) its extremely toxic, if you smell or touch it, it may causes corrosive injury in your skin and irritation, laringeal edema or asphyxia

    • @Xnoob545
      @Xnoob545 5 дней назад

      ​@@adrianbustoscarrillo639 you could probably drink some with no major issue
      Dilute HCl is already present in your stomach naturally
      Drinking extra would eat away at your throat and mouth skin a bit, making it painful, as if you vomited, but not much worse than that probably

  • @awiewahh
    @awiewahh 5 лет назад +219

    NileRed: Wears gloves and works in fume hood.
    Cody'sLab: Fills a toilet with mercury and puts his hand in it.

  • @bunnybro5977
    @bunnybro5977 4 года назад +74

    "I was really sick the other day,but after working in the lab I felt a lot better "
    "Were you working with mercury? "
    "Why,yes,how did you know"
    "Here's a rose"
    "What?"
    "I'm afraid I have a tight schedule and I cant attend the funeral this weekend"

    • @luisp.3788
      @luisp.3788 4 года назад +10

      chemophobia in a nutshell

  • @maybewise
    @maybewise 5 лет назад +54

    I like that you're not a know-it-all, and are willing to admit when you've made errors in judgment, or just don't know something.

  • @bryanstellfox8521
    @bryanstellfox8521 5 лет назад +52

    I know it seems so small, but seeing how to find the volume of a substance with the mass of the same substance is really awesome. I'm just getting back into chemistry and physics after several years away from school, so I'm definitely enjoying picking up small things here and there.

  • @AsymptoteInverse
    @AsymptoteInverse 7 лет назад +17

    I'm glad you finally did the distillation. Partly because I'm curious, and partly because there's no other way I'd ever see this happen.

  • @Flyingroadkilz
    @Flyingroadkilz 6 лет назад +18

    ive always loved chemistry but i fell out with it after secondary school, your vids are reigniting a passion for it

  • @karamboubou8579
    @karamboubou8579 4 года назад +52

    nilered with mercury: DANGER DANGER, MAXIMUM SAFETY MEASURES MYST BE TAKEN.
    cody with mercury: do i have any cuts on my hand? no *shoves it into mercury*

  • @thunderloong
    @thunderloong 6 лет назад +36

    Mildly humorous anecdote: There IS a class of vacuum pump that uses liquid mercury in motion as a pumping medium.

    • @ssmith7074
      @ssmith7074 5 лет назад +9

      Old. It's basically an aspirator with mercury instead of water.

    • @cineblazer
      @cineblazer 5 лет назад +6

      Yeah Cody's Lab made one

    • @soylentgreenb
      @soylentgreenb 3 года назад +4

      There is also the most sci-fi looking obsolete equipment ever made; the mercury arc rectifier.

  • @michaelhanson5350
    @michaelhanson5350 4 года назад +43

    Ooh! Have you tried making vermilion (mercuric sulphide)? Apparently it's a visually interesting process with bright red crystals condensing out of the mercury and sulphur vapours and there are different methods which produce different shades from bright orange to deep red. It used to be the most important red pigment in the paintings of the old masters.

    • @FirstnameLastname-jd4uq
      @FirstnameLastname-jd4uq Год назад

      But it was toxic

    • @georgeparkins777
      @georgeparkins777 Год назад +6

      @@FirstnameLastname-jd4uq You don't say?! A historic pigment was toxic? A mercury compound, even? REALLY??? This is news to me!!!

    • @MrKotBonifacy
      @MrKotBonifacy Год назад +3

      @@FirstnameLastname-jd4uq And the green pigment was arsenic based, yellow one was cadmium based, and there was this "lead white" too... Yeah, "do you remember the time when sex was safe and painting dangerous...?"
      ;-)

  • @QueenNyrak
    @QueenNyrak 3 года назад +5

    I almost cried when he put that beautiful, pristine mercury into that grimy looking jar😩😩😭whyyyyy

  • @thecarrasius
    @thecarrasius 7 лет назад +40

    NileRed...You are a legend!

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +8

      Thanks!

    • @madfoxmax4600
      @madfoxmax4600 7 лет назад

      Faffing Around With Chemicals im sorry but i like both Nerdrage and NileRed I can't make a decision between the two

    • @thecarrasius
      @thecarrasius 7 лет назад

      Agreed. Both have many merits. :)

    • @thecarrasius
      @thecarrasius 7 лет назад

      ChemPlayer is pretty awesome too.

  • @atlys258
    @atlys258 3 года назад +13

    It never occurred to me how dense and heavy unicorn blood is..

  • @dopefiji3431
    @dopefiji3431 7 лет назад +199

    You should do a collab with Cody's Lab

    • @letsreview3039
      @letsreview3039 5 лет назад +11

      they live so far apart tho

    • @PlinkyVR
      @PlinkyVR 4 года назад +4

      @@letsreview3039 plane and or car

    • @Tyler-hu2ns
      @Tyler-hu2ns 4 года назад +4

      @@PlinkyVR nah, walk

    • @PlinkyVR
      @PlinkyVR 4 года назад +2

      @@Tyler-hu2ns that or a corvette stingray road trip sounds fun

    • @luisp.3788
      @luisp.3788 4 года назад

      the profile pic of the op is god now

  • @rttr5777
    @rttr5777 7 лет назад +3

    i remember when your subscribers where 10,000 when I started watching your videos, good job nile red good job

  • @GDaddyTx
    @GDaddyTx Год назад

    Don’t understand most of what you say, but I find your videos so fascinating. Please keep sharing.

  • @Neumonics429
    @Neumonics429 7 лет назад +16

    Thank you for informing the viewer of the steps you took to make it safer, most youtube videos omit or play down the risks asociated with using dangerous chemicals

  • @ProfessorWaltherKotz
    @ProfessorWaltherKotz 7 лет назад +9

    I love your channel so much I give a thumb up to every video to remember which of them I've already seen.

  • @rosenvitae
    @rosenvitae 6 лет назад +7

    Cody sends his regards. Great video. I will say, your safety measures for handling mercury is refreshing. Cody himself seems incredibly lax about it. I'm sure he knows what he's doing out in his middle of nowhere, but still, I'd probably handle mercury like you do here.

  • @hedgeclipper418
    @hedgeclipper418 7 лет назад +2

    Now that you have distilled your quicksliver, you are pure of heart.

  • @alanwatts8239
    @alanwatts8239 5 лет назад +116

    I was going to make a sodium hydride joke, but NaH

  • @SonGoku-97
    @SonGoku-97 5 лет назад +14

    5:10 looks like a crazy smoking contraption my friends would make when they didn't have a bong

  • @UhhhJdragonR
    @UhhhJdragonR 7 лет назад +10

    Your videos have progressed from good to amazingly interesting! Keep it up!

  • @MegaPoxie
    @MegaPoxie 6 лет назад

    I love the way the Mercury beads bounce (at 11:48+) inside the distillation tube. Great video, thanks.

  • @urbanstein69
    @urbanstein69 7 лет назад +2

    I had a small amount of mercury covered with water in a small glass container. When I wanted to remove the water I placed the container of mercury in my freezer, waited for the water to freeze and then removed the ice.

  • @daveotuwa5596
    @daveotuwa5596 4 года назад +5

    One day in my hometown, there was a Hg spill in a gymnasium. Consequently, the school in where the gymnasium is situated had to close until the Hg is wiped to the bone.

  • @TonboIV
    @TonboIV 7 лет назад +4

    Mercury vapor + elaborate glassware + lots of heat? Whooo! Sounds like a fun afternoon!

  • @Tgolden069
    @Tgolden069 3 года назад

    I’m not sure how I got into watching your videos but I’ve learned more watching your videos than I ever did in school.

  • @7akziz584
    @7akziz584 3 года назад +1

    i sure will watch this again in years time

  • @anonamouse5917
    @anonamouse5917 5 лет назад +7

    Now she's back in the atmosphere
    with drops of mercury in her hair
    hey hey hey

  • @Zi7ar21
    @Zi7ar21 5 лет назад +24

    10:50 what mercury sees when I stare at it distilling at 5 am

  • @Fr8gm3ntLives
    @Fr8gm3ntLives Год назад +1

    When I went to school they had a huge open tub of mercury that we used to make barometers. We were allowed to play with it and submerge our hands in it without any ventilation or safety equipment.

    • @Xnoob545
      @Xnoob545 5 дней назад

      Cody'sLab did that on youtube
      It's probably not super dangerous

  • @sdswartz2000
    @sdswartz2000 7 лет назад +2

    My thesis advisor told me in the days of Mercury based diffusion pumps it was common practice to use depleted Uranium chunks as boiling chips to suppress the boiling issues you encountered when cleaning the Hg. Wow hot Mercury and DU in the same process. God bless diffusion pump oil.

  • @salvatoreshiggerino6810
    @salvatoreshiggerino6810 7 лет назад +67

    8:37 Why can't they make solvent containers that don't dribble down the side every single time you try to pour some?
    I know fluid dynamics is hard, but come on!

    • @bluechem5479
      @bluechem5479 7 лет назад

      Salvatore Shiggerino ^rt

    • @leocurious9919
      @leocurious9919 7 лет назад +10

      Hes simply doing it too quick - the angle is too shallow for the remaining amount of i-PrOH in that bottle.
      The usual "dribble" u might be talking about is due to surface tension. Since the container is not made up of a super hydrophobic (and oleophobic) material, the liquid will stick to it and not seperate right away.
      However... there is no such coating. These pictures or videos of repelling coatings are useless... rub your finger over that area once and the coating is gone. There is also no cheap material. But even if u pay the VERY high price for FEP (a polymer like PTFE) bottles... u get the downside of the large diffusion area. But at least you can pour everything (droples all come out) out of there with no spilling. ;)

    • @benearhart1224
      @benearhart1224 5 лет назад +3

      it's called surface tension bro. Take a stirring rod and hold it as you would to prevent water or alcohol from dribbling but hold it nearly horizontal so that the tip goes underneath the spout. Or, just use a clean pipette to pull it out.

    • @EdwardTriesToScience
      @EdwardTriesToScience 3 года назад +1

      Its so you waste tons of it and you have to buy more (you could always use a glass rod to guide the liquid)

  • @TrasherBiner
    @TrasherBiner 5 лет назад +8

    Nile you are the best. This was super interesting to watch, albeit dangerous (which makes it even more fun because my butt isn't at sake). Seriously though, thanks for this great video. I specially like your videos about Hg

  • @nicholi8933
    @nicholi8933 7 лет назад +1

    That was really neat, I have done a vacuum distillation. I have used a rotovap, which is very similar, but this was really neat.

  • @666aron
    @666aron 7 лет назад +1

    Great video, as always. Oh and I like when things heat up in your videos.

  • @vipclubhitzz
    @vipclubhitzz 7 лет назад +22

    How do you get your glassware so shiny after using it over and over in "dirty reactions" again?
    Greetings from Germany

    • @zanpekosak2383
      @zanpekosak2383 7 лет назад +5

      Dennis Hufe He cleanes it with a base and acid bath.

    • @otacon1024
      @otacon1024 6 лет назад +1

      ruclips.net/video/AsPpxQtZcUg/видео.html

  • @kenny.aviation7645
    @kenny.aviation7645 7 лет назад +20

    Best video I've ever seen TBH

  • @christopherleubner6633
    @christopherleubner6633 7 месяцев назад +1

    If you turned the lights off you will see blue glowing as it drips down the condensor. Mercury exhibits a wierd triboluminescent effect when very pure abd in a reduced presdure atmosphere ❤

  • @Soitisisit
    @Soitisisit 2 года назад

    This video really reminds me of the old origins of chemistry. I feel like this is about as "classic" as it gets as I could imagine crude mercury distillations with nearly the same process in a less refined form going back hundreds, maybe thousands of years depending on what culture you look at. ( In particular I'm reminded of how Chinese myth treats mercury and what some emperors supposedly did in order to refine it. ) For me it really straddled that line of philosophical question of "What is magic anyway?" So I'd say you're spot on with the "because it looks cool". Sometimes I wish I could work in a chem lab and this is definitely one of those times but I don't think I could do it as regularly as you do. Especially because I'm not near so careful.

  • @shredboy9163
    @shredboy9163 4 года назад +17

    “You can see my house”
    That's a beautiful house.

  • @arrowed_sparrow1506
    @arrowed_sparrow1506 5 лет назад +6

    @ 1:42 I thought you set your boiling flask in a frickin pie... My brain might be telling me to sleep, but what does it know... MORE SCIENCE!

  • @irvingkurlinski
    @irvingkurlinski 6 лет назад +2

    Good idea with your secondary collection flask. I've wrecked some flasks using high heat, but I found that using a clean hot sand bath (if you have a high flame source) worked out (so far).

  • @jakovbrizic
    @jakovbrizic 2 года назад +2

    9:15
    "Martha! Martha! The neighbor is at it again!"
    "Oh George, just sit down and read your newspapers."
    "No Martha! This crazy kid is going to poison all of us one day!"

  • @LiMCRiMZ
    @LiMCRiMZ 3 года назад +4

    "I did it in a very well ventilated area"
    Outside. He did it outside. 10:06

  • @daskaffeetschal8635
    @daskaffeetschal8635 7 лет назад +4

    Amazing! Simply baffling! In my recommendations was this video and one below, a song by queen(from Freddy mercury)

  • @ZepLedastic
    @ZepLedastic 7 лет назад +2

    Great video Nile! Love it when they show up in my feed.
    Was wondering what vacuum pump you're using here?

  • @channelVlogger
    @channelVlogger 6 лет назад +1

    Mercury to me always stresses how weird chemistry is. I'm an undergraduate in it, I know the stuff that happens in most of your vids, but especially your cleaning series is showing how strange a world we are living in.

  • @lajoswinkler
    @lajoswinkler 7 лет назад +3

    It was a very dangerous thing to do and I'm glad nothing happened (good thing you did this outside), but you should've removed the water. Before distilling, you can just push mercury through cotton filter. It will absorb any liquid surface contaminants and you'll get a shiny metal happily bouncing in the beaker. No oil to burn in the distilling flask, no water vapor lingering around.
    Few more advices:
    - a plastic tub isn't a barrier against hot mercury; steel trough would be ok
    - cushion all of your vessels; glass ones like to snap with mercury inside bumping on contact with hard surfaces
    - store mercury in a steel or plastic bottle - less chance of breaking; that storage bottle of yours has a high chance of just losing it lid; mercury is notorious for this awful trick
    And you shouldn't add water on top of clean mercury. If you're gonna cap it, that's it, it won't leak the vapors out and you can put it in a bag with some sulfur which will stay yellow if everything seals. Water is useful to lower the rate of evaporation and can be used in some uncovered applications, but in a sealed vessel, it's gonna build up again.
    Only extremely pure Hg will be ok around pure water. If there's even a bit of contamination, it will make the water murky and cover the metal with gunk, so you created the conditions for another cleaning in the future.

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +1

      Yeah, you are right about everything you said. Thanks for the tips! The mercury will probably get muddled over time again. I will do what you said and store it in a bad with sulfur at the bottom.

  • @Biomaterials_Science
    @Biomaterials_Science 4 года назад +6

    Doesn't the mercury oxide (main contaminant) reduce under the distillation conditions? I think this would explain why your remaining mercury is so shiny.

  • @zetaalpha5110
    @zetaalpha5110 4 года назад +1

    Im planning to go into chemistry during my second year of highschool, and I've decided that if i ever need to study, i will use this channel and definitely introduce the teacher to it.

    • @EzekiesAcheron
      @EzekiesAcheron 2 года назад

      I blew my Chemistry teacher's mind when I showed him the liquid carbon dioxide video.

  • @joeestes8114
    @joeestes8114 7 лет назад +2

    Great video! the mercury that was cleaned looked really good!

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад

      Thanks!

    • @joeestes8114
      @joeestes8114 7 лет назад

      I really enjoy your videos and watch some of them two or three times!

  • @darylcheshire1618
    @darylcheshire1618 5 лет назад +3

    I never distilled mercury but my impromptu method was to use a funnel with filter paper with a pinhole in it.
    The crap would stick to the paper and the mercury is much cleaner looking but obviously not as pure as distilled mercury.

    • @luisp.3788
      @luisp.3788 4 года назад

      He actually did that in one or maybe both of the two videos where he made mercury.

  • @DN-zn2li
    @DN-zn2li 7 лет назад +3

    You deserve much more subs!!

  • @OrcaBrigade
    @OrcaBrigade 6 лет назад +2

    so glad codyslab mentioned this vid

  • @campbellmorrison8540
    @campbellmorrison8540 2 года назад

    Excellent overview of the safety aspects of this. All to often this is assumed and the unwary ( those with enough knowledge to be dangerous ) get caught.

  • @Alondro77
    @Alondro77 2 года назад +6

    I am immensely impressed that you did this and your nervous system is still intact. A testament to your chemistry expertise.

    • @cabrondio
      @cabrondio Год назад

      Oh! Yesss.
      But this syntesis is with elemental Mercury (inorganic vapors).
      However, be special careful with accidentals ORGANIC MERCURY SALTS OR VAPORS→Very serious injuries accidental inhalation 🫁 ⚗️🧬 or contact exposure by the skin !!!! 🖐🏽🧠💦
      Remember: Karen Wetterhahn (October 16, 1948 - June 8, 1997), also known as Karen Wetterhahn Jennette, was an American professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, who specialized in toxic metal exposure. She died of mercury poisoning at the age of 48 due to accidental exposure to the extremely toxic ORGANIC mercury compound
      dimethylmecury (Hg(CH3)2).

  • @albertoterk9668
    @albertoterk9668 7 лет назад +14

    That boil, Chemistry Horror Movie right there, ahahahAs chemist undergraduate i love your videos

  • @fever4174
    @fever4174 4 года назад +1

    They had to evacuate schools if the thermometer broke... in the liquid state.

  • @jakers141
    @jakers141 4 года назад +2

    "to try and keep things boiling nicely, I added some broken glass" this is the first thing that has ever floored me as much as kiwami's procedures. gonna try that one next time I'm making ramen

  • @multimoron11
    @multimoron11 7 лет назад +66

    Make liquid hydrogen. It would be truly fascinating but I understand that you probably don't have everything you need to do it.

    • @humanppplus4306
      @humanppplus4306 6 лет назад +10

      Liquid helium is much much better but it’s extremely difficult to make because of the extremely low freezing point. It would be even cooler to see superfluid helium

    • @jauume
      @jauume 6 лет назад +2

      GD humanppplus isn't helium's boiling point close to absolute zero? Or is it the melting point?

    • @cherrybacon9790
      @cherrybacon9790 5 лет назад

      yeah but you best need liquid He to make it...

    • @apolloniuspergus9295
      @apolloniuspergus9295 5 лет назад +3

      mAkE sOLiD HeLiUm

    • @unholy_ghost1119
      @unholy_ghost1119 5 лет назад +2

      Joe Holland how about being a superfluid/superconductor

  • @Mekadrom
    @Mekadrom 4 года назад +7

    Does solid (frozen) mercury do anything interesting? Would love to see more mercury exploration!

  • @Peron1-MC
    @Peron1-MC 4 года назад +2

    10:20 its funny. its shaking when it boils because of how dense the mercury is splashing around :)

  • @RCaIabraro
    @RCaIabraro 5 лет назад

    An excellent video. Informative and fascinating to see.

  • @briancowan7854
    @briancowan7854 7 лет назад +3

    hey brother where do you get your hg? it took me 6 months to hunt down 1lb and it cost just short of a pound of flesh lol.

  • @martynridley3671
    @martynridley3671 3 года назад +6

    I seem to recall that a Japanese emperor (can't remember his name) was so obsessed with mercury, that he had an underground cavern built, in which was a landscape of all the rivers of Japan, - all filled with mercury! He also had an apothecarian make up some balls of mercury mixed with clay, which he regularly consumed because he believed it to have magical life-giving properties. I'm pretty sure he died young!

    • @darthrevan1281
      @darthrevan1281 Год назад +6

      That was probably Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. High levels of mercury were in fact detected in the soil around his tomb, which is the main reason why they haven’t tried to open it.

  • @cybercat8819
    @cybercat8819 3 года назад

    hello just wanted to thank you for your work and say that this makes me able to take dumps that im usually not available to

  • @tylerakerfeldt7220
    @tylerakerfeldt7220 Год назад

    Knowing this is your dads garage, it’s hard to believe how well it could be ventilated

  • @rxistprepps1120
    @rxistprepps1120 7 лет назад +14

    just a thought: you might want to do a blood test to check you Hg levels. as a scientific inquiry.
    pre experiment (ideally, though not necessary since normal serum Hg levels are undetectable) and post experiment just to determine whether or not your safe guards were sufficient. i'm sure they were good enough to avoid exposure, but still, if it were me, i'd be curious.
    great vid, as always man

    • @C134B
      @C134B 7 лет назад

      Rxist Prepps he may just use a couple hairs and liquid chromatography, that is cheap and can detect low concentrations.

    • @ColinRies
      @ColinRies 7 лет назад +3

      Rxist Prepps Cody from Cody's Lab did that after playing with really big amounts of Hg and even putting his arm half way in it. His levels were not even close to exceeding the normal range.

    • @duroncrush
      @duroncrush 7 лет назад

      Colin Ries I saw the one where Cody for tested. The other real problem is that all the tiny amounts of HG that escape into the environment collect and build up.

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +18

      I was genuinely considering it. Mercury thiocyanate, mercury fulminate, mercuric chloride, mercury distillation...eating tuna... I probably have a nice mercury collection in my body

    • @ColinRies
      @ColinRies 7 лет назад +5

      NileRed nice that you list eating tuna after listing all the chemicals... I don't imagine it would play a big role compared to the other stuff haha. BTW, what about a "extract mercury from tuna" video :P

  • @edwardatnardellaca
    @edwardatnardellaca 6 лет назад +8

    Could you explain more about how the broken glass would help?

    • @yakir11114
      @yakir11114 5 лет назад +16

      you feed the boiling mercury broken glass to calm it down so it will be less hungry and wont eat your glass container

    • @RCaIabraro
      @RCaIabraro 5 лет назад +14

      When you boil something, it's good to give it a rough surface area. The rough surface provides a place for gas to nucleate. It prevents you from creating a superheated liquid as you raise the temperature to the boiling point. Superheated liquid mercury would have the potential to flash to a boil, and that would surely be a bad time for all involved.

  • @makaylalamy5040
    @makaylalamy5040 3 года назад +1

    I tried watching you to fall asleep and ended up watching like 20 of your videos

  • @ninjaphobos
    @ninjaphobos 4 года назад +1

    Around 3:00, you weigh the two capped jars of mercury with the mass of the jars, water, etc. included and estimate the volume/mass of mercury by that. You then combined both mercury sources into a 1 L beaker and decant almost all of the water. That may have been a much better opportunity to weigh the mercury before distillation, because you can easily tare off the mass of the 1 L beaker ... the only thing left at that point is pre-distilled mercury and about 50 mL (or ~50 g +/- impurities) of water. You can do the same post-distillation and get a more accurate % yield.

  • @ColinRies
    @ColinRies 7 лет назад +4

    You should have calculated the volume by multiplying the radius of the bottle squared with pi and the height of the mercury. Would have been really precise

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +13

      When preparing, I did that as well, to confirm it was close.

  • @smallmoneysalvia
    @smallmoneysalvia 5 лет назад +4

    While it’s expensive, fluorocarbon grease is very high temperature resistant and extremely chemically and vacuum stable. Krytox should do a great job sealing this apparatus if I’m not mistaken.

    • @RCaIabraro
      @RCaIabraro 5 лет назад

      I was thinking Teflon tape; similar stuff.

  • @smudgepost
    @smudgepost 6 лет назад +1

    As a novice, what function does the ice trap provide? Does this cold zone help with the distillation pressure or is this purely to freeze anything toxic that makes its way into the trap?

  • @nidalshehahadeh7485
    @nidalshehahadeh7485 Год назад

    I visited Cusco Peru quite a few years back , one of the sites on the tour was gold mining , after they mix the Mercury with the gold they will take the amalgam and filter it in a piece of silk , most of the Mercury will pass through the silk and the gold with some of the Mercury got caught in the silk as a nugget , then they will put it into a furnace and burn off the Mercury .

  • @zendevonys5261
    @zendevonys5261 5 лет назад +11

    8:48 Weird flex but OK

  • @Fukitol_Forte
    @Fukitol_Forte 4 года назад +13

    "How to scrape HIV samples out of used IV cannulas by hand."

  • @astralchemistry8732
    @astralchemistry8732 7 лет назад

    Amazing video!!! After all the years mercury still scares me more than hydrazine or hydrazoic acid. This reminds me of a mercury spill we had in a lecture room at the university (sloppy professor). The funny thing was that he was not even allowed to use mercury for his experiments.

  • @crusader3929
    @crusader3929 2 года назад

    He sounds like your boss trying to tell you you have to work the weekend while trying not to piss you off

  • @darianballard2074
    @darianballard2074 7 лет назад +3

    Like all your videos very good. :)

  • @Tryalittlebit
    @Tryalittlebit 5 лет назад +4

    "it takes at least several washings"

  • @coleramsey6705
    @coleramsey6705 7 лет назад

    Yay it's finally here!

  • @LucaFotoSF
    @LucaFotoSF 7 лет назад

    Nice Adams & Chittenden Glassware!

  • @AureliusR
    @AureliusR 7 лет назад +4

    @2:08 -- that was an *explicit* warning, *not* an _implicit_ one. You said it straight out that it's dangerous and will produce mercury vapours.

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +16

      I meant i was implicitly telling you guys to not try it yourself. You are right though, the actual warning was explicit.

  • @RobertSzasz
    @RobertSzasz 7 лет назад +3

    Surprised you didn't go with a cheap supplied air respirator, or a proper Hg filtering respirator.
    and would washing the glassware with the dirty mercury work to collect all the tiny droplets?

    • @nardgames
      @nardgames 7 лет назад +3

      Robert Szasz You can see in the reflection he distilled it outside.

    • @RobertSzasz
      @RobertSzasz 7 лет назад

      I hoped I caught that with an edit before anyone saw....

    • @NileRed
      @NileRed  7 лет назад +4

      Using some mercury to get the last drops isnt a bad idea at all.

  • @geodeaholicm4889
    @geodeaholicm4889 6 лет назад +1

    nicely done & explained.

  • @npm1811
    @npm1811 3 года назад +1

    Mercury in a separating funnel, now I’ve seen everything!