this post was submitted on 07 May 2024
1115 points (97.7% liked)
People Twitter
5210 readers
2071 users here now
People tweeting stuff. We allow tweets from anyone.
RULES:
- Mark NSFW content.
- No doxxing people.
- Must be a tweet or similar
- No bullying or international politcs
- Be excellent to each other.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Not long ago they didn't care so much about that. He also talked about how they'd play with it with their bare hands. He's not dead because mercury is only toxic when ingested.
Edit: in retrospect, he is dead. I forgot that cancer got him a few years back and that high school was 30 years ago...
Doesn't it get absorbed?
As I understand it, the danger is the vapour. It boils at a high enough temperature that it's supposed to be safe for handling.
Doesn't it give off toxic vapors?
Mercury boils at 356.7©
Yes, but every liquid has a vapor pressure because some moleciles always evaporate - else anything wet would never dry unless heated to water's boiling point.
For mercury it's fairly low at room temperatures but because it accumulates in the body, frequent exposure to unsealed mercury is harmful.
How much is that in ™?
45/79^™
I'm not an expert, but from what little I remember: mercury doesn't immediately kill you like other poisons. What it does do is build up in your body until it hits a tipping point and starts causing problems. Your body has no way to process or get rid of it. Which was why accumulations of it in seafood was a big deal because eat enough of it, even in tiny amounts over a long time, and it starts to mess you up. The amount of mercury that you would be exposed to by breathing near an open source would be minimal I imagine. Or something like that. Like I said. Not an expert. Better to just stay away from it entirely, I'm sure.
Ah, I see.
You meant he didn't die immediately from touching it.
I misread that.
He’s not dead because he absorbed so much chemicals over the years it all cancelled out. Those tech room uni workers are supermutants. That’s why you are so scared of them instinctively when meeting one for the first time.