How do you test red Mercury at home?

Answer 1

Red Mercury doesn't exist !

Answer 2

Red Mercury is supposedly a super-conductive material used for producing high-precision conventional and nuclear bomb explosives, which was widely reported in the press a few years ago and has featured in several Science Fiction stories. However, it does not actually exist.

Samples purported to be red mercury, seized from would-be terrorists, have turned out to be nothing more than mercury oxide, mercury iodide or mercury coloured with red dye; which has led some people to speculate that the myth was started by an unknown intelligence agnecy (the KGB is frequently blamed) in order to detect those involved in the illegal development of nuclear weapons.

Interestingly, when stories first appeared red mercury was known as red only because it was thought to be manufactured in Russia which was then a Communist state. By the time samples showed up in Eastern Europe, it had suddenly become physically red in colour as well.

Although it is now wodely known that the chemical is mythical, if it was indeed invented to help hunt down terrorists it remains very successful - several people were arrested in the UK as recently as 2004 after they made enquiries into purchasing 1kg of it.

Answer 3

Don't!

It is the oxide of mercury. Heating it will produce mercury vapour which is extremely poisonous. It is visible in infra red light but not in the visible. You won't be able to see the substance that is going to produce serious harm.

It is an anachronism: it is one of the so called four elements of medieval science...