Aluminium amalgam aluminium and reduce H from water, creating aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)) and hydrogen gas (H). The electrons from the aluminium reduce mercuric Hg ion to metallic mercury. The metallic mercury can then form an amalgam with the exposed aluminium metal. The amalgamated aluminium then is oxidized by water, converting the aluminium to aluminium hydroxide and releasing free metallic mercury. The generated mercury then cycles through these last two steps until the aluminium metal supply is exhausted. Due to the reactivity of aluminium amalgam, restrictions are placed on the use and handling of mercury in proximity with aluminium. In particular, large amounts
Chemistry: A Volatile History Chemistry: A Volatile History Chemistry: A Volatile History is a 2010 BBC documentary on the history of chemistry presented by Jim Al-Khalili. It was nominated for the 2010 British Academy Television Awards in the category Specialist Factual. Only in the last 200 years have we known what an element is – a substance that cannot be broken down further by chemical reaction. The Ancient Greeks, with no way of breaking open substances, could only base their ideas of the elements on what they could see: Earth, Fire, Water and Air. In the 16th century alchemists were busy trying to turn