# What can I do with a hunk of 99.99% pure Gallium? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 20, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359 "2017-02-20T23:27:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/1 "2017-02-20T23:27:02Z")
See query. A gift from a friend, in a tube somewhat like a cross between a .50 calibre shell and a suppository for an ox, with a replaceable cap. Told me “it was cool and melts easily.” Is it dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/2 "2017-02-20T23:29:58Z")
It’s a bit like silly putty. This is what the Amazon website says about it: > [@](#): > > Gallium Precautions & Tips > > Don’t be fooled by the youtube videos. > > - Although considered non-toxic, according to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), gallium is a skin irritant and glove protection should be worn. > - Gloves should be worn for another reason - when solid, it disperses into very fine particles that will ingrain themselves in your skin, discolouring it grey, and the stain is difficult to remove. (easy enough though with a bit of Cif.) > - Handle in on a disposable surface - Even the slightest speck of gallium will cause a large grey smudge on a surface. > - Gallium is very sticky, and as such, moving it the way you desire becomes a challenge. It slides more easily off plastic, but it’ll even stick to that. When you try and pour gallium, the last dregs will solidify due to cooling, making full transfer a painstaking process requiring heat and inventive thinking. > - You will not do well by ‘scraping off’ gallium as some of the youtube videos recommend. It will either stick to whatever you are scraping it off with, or it will turn into a fine grey powder which makes it more difficult to work with. > - Unfortunately, gallium is not magnetic, so it cannot be picked up or transferred that way. > - Don’t let gallium touch other metals, unless of course, you plan to cause corrosion. > - Don’t mold a key with gallium and use it in the keyhole - it has an excellent chance of snapping (it’s brittle like glass) or, even worse, melting whilst in there. A well-known practical joke among chemists is to fashion gallium spoons and use them to serve tea to unsuspecting guests, since gallium has a similar appearance to its lighter homolog aluminium. The spoons then melt in the hot tea ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/3 "2017-02-20T23:31:37Z")
Uhm…semiconductors? You have a cleanroom, right? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/4 "2017-02-20T23:36:07Z")
That last comment was from Wikipedia - missed the edit ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/5 "2017-02-20T23:58:29Z")
The only cool thing about it is that it will melt in your hand despite being solid at room temperature; its melting point is around 85 F. I don’t know what else to do with it besides let it melt in your hand. edit: Wikipedia also says that unlike most things (but like water), its density decreases as it freezes. I don’t think you can really do anything cool with that knowledge though. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/6 "2017-02-20T23:58:56Z")
Another precaution - don’t put the liquid into a tightly sealed glass container - it expands a bit when it solidifies, like ice, and can crack the container. It exhibits a conchoidal fracture pattern, like glass. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/7 "2017-02-21T00:54:03Z")
use it as a party trick; impress kids with your ability to melt metal in your hand. then, blow their minds by showing them they have the power (with appropriate skin protection) to melt metal too. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/8 "2017-02-21T01:08:47Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > The only cool thing about it is that it will melt in your hand despite being solid at room temperature; its melting point is around 85 F. I don’t know what else to do with it besides let it melt in your hand. > > edit: Wikipedia also says that unlike most things (but like water), its density decreases as it freezes. I don’t think you can really do anything cool with that knowledge though. Don’t put in your pocket. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/9 "2017-02-21T01:11:31Z")
Sounds to me like it’s more trouble than it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/10 "2017-02-21T01:37:42Z")
I think all these posts are jumping over the meta-issue: _why_ did **Leo** ’s friend give him a sample of gallium? And where did the friend get it - just happened to have a tube of it kicking around? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/11 "2017-02-21T01:41:48Z")
Give it to someone else as a gift … ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/12 "2017-02-21T01:59:18Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think all these posts are jumping over the meta-issue: _why_ did **Leo** ’s friend give him a sample of gallium? And where did the friend get it - just happened to have a tube of it kicking around? > > 😕 As for where he got it, it’s not like there’s any restrictions on buying it - Amazon lists it here for $26.90 for 100 grams: [https://www.amazon.com/Gallium-99-99-Pure-Grams-RotoMetals/dp/B01M6AYJNV](https://www.amazon.com/Gallium-99-99-Pure-Grams-RotoMetals/dp/B01M6AYJNV) The company that supplies it, RotoMetals, sells a lot of specialty metals. I notice that it’s “frequently bought together” with a sample of bismuth. THAT, you can make pretty crystals out of: [https://www.google.com/search?q=bismuth+crystals&rlz=1C1GGGE\_enUS453US453&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv8vvDi6DSAhVH5mMKHdb4BQMQsAQIGw&biw=1752&bih=1276](https://www.google.com/search?q=bismuth+crystals&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS453US453&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv8vvDi6DSAhVH5mMKHdb4BQMQsAQIGw&biw=1752&bih=1276) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/13 "2017-02-21T02:06:15Z")
BTW, if you happen to have a “mercury free” fever thermometer that looks like it has mercury in it, that’s galinstan - a eutectic alloy of gallium, indium and tin (stannous) that happens to melt at a low enough temperature for that purpose. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/14 "2017-02-21T15:49:34Z")
You can pretend you’re Uri Geller. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/15 "2017-02-21T16:03:39Z")
Or use it to [destroy aluminum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCOQTOiZdCE). ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-a-hunk-of-99-99-pure-gallium/780359/16 "2017-02-21T16:22:39Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > A well-known practical joke among chemists is to fashion gallium spoons and use them to serve tea to unsuspecting guests, since gallium has a similar appearance to its lighter homolog aluminium. The spoons then melt in the hot tea I would think that making a spoon that looks remotely good is not an easy task. However, amazon to the rescue. > **[Amazon.com: RotoMetals Gallium Spoon Mold-Create a Magic...](https://www.amazon.com/Gallium-Spoon-Mold-By-Rotometals/dp/B0061DPTW4)** > > This gallium spoon mold can be used over and over again. It includes all instructions necessary for the use and maintenance of the mold. This listing does not include the gallium necessary to make the spoon. It takes about 13-15 grams of gallium to... Unsurprisingly that is frequently sold with the Gallium linked earlier by yabob. Notice both the mold and the metal are sold by Rotometals.