Can Electric Shock Cause Quicksilver Reactions in Mercury?

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The discussion explores alternative methods to excite mercury beyond temperature, specifically considering the effects of electrical stimulation. It highlights the potential dangers of handling mercury due to its toxicity and emphasizes caution in any experiments. Participants mention the concept of using electrically active fluids that change viscosity with current, which could serve as a safer alternative for applications like shock absorbers or artificial muscles. The conversation also touches on the historical context of alchemy and its modern interpretations. Overall, the thread suggests that while mercury may not be the ideal choice, there are innovative materials being researched that could fulfill similar functions.
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I'm trying to find out if there is another way to excite mercury other than temperature, say for instance what would the reaction be if a stungun was fired into a bucket of mercury, and would the result be the same if it happened in a vacuum? novice at this
 
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LocktnLoaded said:
I'm trying to find out if there is another way to excite mercury other than temperature

I don't know that I could help anyway, but mainly I'm not quite sure what the question is. 'Excite' how? If you mean to produce light, that's electrical stimulation of mercury vapour, not really dependent upon temperature. (Incidentally, if you're thinking of doing any experiments with mercury, be extremely careful. It's incredibly toxic and can kill you through skin absorbtion as well as inhalation.)
 
No, I'm not doing any experiments, just doing some pondering about over unity, what I'm looking for is a fluid that expands, by temperture or electrical means, that will go back to its smaller stable state , like a thermometer would retreat back to its bulb when it gets cooler.
 
Careful! You are almost speaking about Alchemy. Modern propaganda argues about these different phases of quicksilver.

Ah, in the USA there is an alchemical thread which uses gunpowder (not available to Mid Age practicioners) to burn the composite.

For classical alchemy, you can try Newman & Principe ' book.
 
LocktnLoaded said:
No, I'm not doing any experiments, just doing some pondering about over unity, what I'm looking for is a fluid that expands, by temperture or electrical means, that will go back to its smaller stable state , like a thermometer would retreat back to its bulb when it gets cooler.
I see. Okay then, mercury isn't the way to go. I don't have the time to find it right now, but there are people doing pretty much what you're interested in. They've come up with an electrically active fluid that changes it's viscosity according to how much current is going through it. So far they have variable shock absorbers, but I think that they're trying to expand the research in order to make artificial muscles out of the stuff. Maybe try Googling for 'electroactive fluids' or various similar things.
 
comparing a flat solar panel of area 2π r² and a hemisphere of the same area, the hemispherical solar panel would only occupy the area π r² of while the flat panel would occupy an entire 2π r² of land. wouldn't the hemispherical version have the same area of panel exposed to the sun, occupy less land space and can therefore increase the number of panels one land can have fitted? this would increase the power output proportionally as well. when I searched it up I wasn't satisfied with...
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