Recent slime videos from TikTok caused some people to fear on Twitter, which is fair given that it appeared as though they were carelessly dumping mercury. Although the liquid metal closely resembles mercury, gallium—another extremely cold substance—is what it is.
A soft, silvery-white metal like aluminum, gallium, or Ga on the Period Table, is akin to aluminum. Because it is non-toxic despite looking like mercury, you’ll see a lot of pictures of individuals holding it in its puddled form in their hands online.
The problem with mercury isn’t simply how to handle it. While mercury can be absorbed through the skin and poison humans, it does so very slowly. However, mercury should be avoided since its vapor can be inhaled, posing a risk that is particularly harmful to young children and pregnant women.
Playing with mercury might be disastrous for sentimental items like rings, even if you were to wear a mask. Mercury dissolves gold, so if it were to come into touch with, say, a wedding band, you could say goodbye to that item.
Simply said, don’t play around with mercury. And given that gallium exists, why would you want to?
Gallium is a trace element that is found in a variety of compounds in nature. It is a by-product of the manufacturing of zinc and aluminum and is extracted into its pure form through smelting.
Electronic circuits, semiconductors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and microwaves are all occupational applications for gallium. Additionally, it assists solar panels and has been to Mars by riding together with rovers from NASA’s Mars Exploration Program.
Regarding gallium’s recreational applications, it’s a very enjoyable metal to play with. Gallium is so soft at room temperature that a knife can easily cut through it. It will become liquid when you pick it up and warm it with your palm, much like the satisfyingly gooey slime balls seen on TikTok.
Therefore, anyone worried that individuals are gleefully inhaling mercury on TikTok may probably exhale with ease since we can thank the chemical element gallium for the enjoyable videos. However, given how many users have joined TikTok to post pictures of themselves holding blue-ringed octopuses, mercury joining the social networking site doesn’t seem like such a big step.
