I still remember the trick my dad, who's a chemical engineer, played on me
back in the fifties. We would be taking a walk. He made a point showing me
he had a silver dime in his hand. After a block or so, he'd show me the dime
had melted, by rolling a drop of silver liquid around in his cupped hand.
How is a 6 year old supposed to know about mercury? I spent years trying to
melt a dime just by rubbing it in my hands.

David Ricketts 
PCB Design Services 
MMI Designs 

-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David D. Hillman
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 2:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [TN] NTC Friday Element Quiz - The Answer

Hi folks - here is the Friday Element Quiz Answer.

The Question:

This element was first refined from ore over 2500 years ago. Its 
ionization energy is the highest of all of the metals and thermal 
conductivity is approximately 50X lower than copper. This element is 
extremely toxic yet has wide, long term industrial applications. World 
production of this element in 1971 was 10,400 tons but was only 1490 tons 
in 2001. What element am I?

Bonus points: Name the author who's fictional character was well 
acquainted with this element


The Answer:

The element is Mercury - Hg. The number of people who have actually 
"played" with Mercury and shined up coins is amazing considering how toxic 
the element is and how long it took before the dangers were realized. My 
"old" physics professors used to have vats of Hg which they used in class! 
The use of mercury in dental amalgams is still a very controversial topic 
for some folks. 

The winner of this week's quiz is Bev Christian of RIM with Mike Fenner of 
Indium running second. The answer to the bonus points was Lewis Carroll - 
the Mad Hatter character from his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland story 
has true life roots in the use of mercury in a hatter's shop.


Have a great weekend.

Dave Hillman
Rockwell Collins
[log in to unmask]



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