ERIC Number: EJ1327764
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Feb
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Safer Alternative for the Mercury Beating Heart Demonstration
Wang, Bingxing; Jiang, Xiaoying; Zhang, Yu; Yu, Lu; Zhang, Yuping
Journal of Chemical Education, v99 n2 p1095-1099 Feb 2022
The mercury beating heart is a classic demonstration to introduce redox reactions in the classroom. Here we report a new, safer demonstration: the Galinstan beating heart. Galinstan is a commercially available eutectic alloy composed of gallium (68.5%), indium (21.5%), and tin (10%) that has low toxicity. When an iron nail touches the Galinstan drop in a sulfuric acid solution, a steady beating heart behavior is observed. The mechanism of the Galinstan beating heart was attributed to electron transfer from the Galinstan drop to the iron nail, which induces a charge redistribution and an interfacial tension gradient on the drop.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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