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Mercury and aluminum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)#Mercury_and_aluminium
Mercury readily combines with aluminum to form a mercury-aluminum amalgam when the two pure metals come into contact. However, when the amalgam is exposed to air, the aluminum oxidizes, leaving behind mercury. The oxide flakes away, exposing more mercury amalgam, which repeats the process. This process continues until the supply of amalgam is exhausted, and since it releases mercury, a small amount of mercury can "eat through" a large amount of aluminum over time, by progressively forming amalgam and relinquishing the aluminum as oxide.
Aluminium in air is ordinarily protected by a molecule-thin layer of its own oxide, which is not porous to oxygen. Mercury coming into contact with this oxide does no harm. However, if any elemental aluminum is exposed (even by a recent scratch), the mercury may combine with it, starting the process described above, and potentially damaging a large part of the aluminum before it finally ends.[48]
For this reason, restrictions are placed on the use and handling of mercury in proximity with aluminum. In particular, mercury is not allowed aboard aircraft under most circumstances because of the risk of it forming amalgam with exposed aluminum parts in the aircraft.
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Why the mercury can not rise in a lab thermometer if there is air in the glass tube?
Because the pressure of air may be greater than the pressure of the ascending mercury.
Who made the first mercury thermometer?
Galileo invented an air thermometer in about 1600, but changes in atmospheric pressure made accurate measurement difficult. Liquids were quickly used instead and Gabriel Fahrenheit was the first to use alcohol (1709) and mercury (1714), in a thermometer.
Does a red thermometer smell?
If it is a modern version, yes. Most "air temperature" thermometers use colored alcohol mixes instead of mercury (the vapor of which can be very toxic).
Who invented laboratory thermometers?
There is debate on who invented the first laboratory thermometer especially since there different kinds invented at different times. However, many think the credit should go to Italian professor, doctor, and physiologist Sanctorius for the air thermometer in 1612.
Mercury stays in the test tube or escapes into the air?
escapes into th air!! (:
What happens to the mercury in the thermometer when the air gets warm?
mercury explodes
What happens to the mercury in the thermometer when the air is cool?
In a mercury thermometer, the level of mercury falls as the temperature of the air around it cools.A mercury thermometer has a bulb of mercury at the bottom and a thin tube above it with markings in Celsius degrees or Fahrenheit degrees. When the temperature warms, the mercury expands and rises up the tube. When the temperature cools, the mercury contracts and shrinks back toward the bulb at the bottom.
How do you test the temperature of the air?
Get a thermometer - the mercury will rise or fall accordingly to the temperature of the air.
Is there air in a glass thermometer?
Yes, above the mercury or the other liquid.
What causes mercury in a thermometer to separate?
The cause is an udesired absorption of air.
What was the first liquid used in a thermometer?
The first thermometer was a tube filled with water and air.
Why the mercury can not rise in a lab thermometer if there is air in the glass tube?
Because the pressure of air may be greater than the pressure of the ascending mercury.
Why the mercury can not rise in a lab thermometer if there is air in glass tube?
Because the pressure of air may be greater than the pressure of the ascending Mercury.
What is mercury contained in a tube used to measure air temperature called?
thermometer
Why the reading of thermometer is taken when the mercury stop expanding?
The mercury will expand and rise up the thermometer tube until it reaches the temperature of the air around it. When it stops expanding, it is the same temperature as the air, and therefore gives an accurate reading.
What is in a thermometer and a barometer?
A thermometer measures temperature - most are now electric but they used to have alcohol or mercury in them. A barometer measures air pressure - they are now electric but used to have air in them (in a bellows with a spring).
What instrument measures changes in temperature?
Temperatures are measured by instruments called thermometers.The instrument usually used to measure air temperature is the maximum-minimum thermometer. It consists of a U shaped tube with bulbs at each end and mercury at the bottom. Air heats or cools the bulbs causing the air inside to expand or contract, therefore pushing or pulling the mercury upwards or downwards.There are 3 types of thermometer: minimum thermometer, maximum thermometer,and the "Six's thermometer" -- these record the temperatures over a period of time.it says in my book that a thermometer measures air temperature
