They probably got it from T-87 Honeywell thermostats.
Posted on 02/01/2024 6:06:28 AM PST by SunkenCiv
They probably got it from T-87 Honeywell thermostats.
The anvil floating on top of the mercury looks so cool. I have a small jar of mercury and I have floated one inch steel ball bearings on top of it. In Boy Scouts we took the switches from the thermostats and operated simple circuits with them. The substance is so fun.
You always have to wonder, how did they know there was mercury hidden in the cinnabar?
Interesting stuff, mercury. Mercuric compounds were one of the earliest treatments for syphilis. Later, the mercury was replaced with arsenic compounds. (Note to self: don’t get syphilis)
In the late 18th & early 19th Centuries, the best lighthouses used a rotating 4-sided cut glass Fresnel lens that weighed a ton or two to focus the light from a kerosene lamp into a (somewhat) coherent beam that could be seen from miles away. This was when ball bearings were scarce and primitive so the giant magnifying lens was floated in a circular trough of mercury, allowing it to rotate under a minimum of force. And one of the light keeper’s chores was to be certain the mercury trough stayed topped off.
Hat makers once used a nitrate of mercury to stiffen the felt fur in their hats. Not understanding the risk of the fumes, some did their stiffening in small, unventilated rooms until they developed mercury poisoning. In it’s advanced stages, it can present with uncontrolled fits of laughter or crying, ergo the “mad hatter’s” disease.
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