Entries with tag "melting"

I remember once when I was 14 or so, I was reading the periodic table and I came across the description for Gallium. It's a metal that is solid and brittle at room temperature (if you strike it, it shatters like glass), but it melts at 86°F, so if you hold it in your hands for a few minutes it will melt. Unlike mercury, gallium is not toxic. It also easily becomes supercooled, meaning that if you bring it down below 86°F, it will remain liquid until it is "seeded" — when you drop in a tiny chunk of solid gallium, the liquid will suddenly solidify. I thought that was amazing, and I've wanted a chunk of gallium ever since.

[Entry Continues...]