Did you know you can melt a metal with just the warmth of your hands?
By AndrewDaGamer - Own work
It sounds unbelievable, right?
We usually think of metals as needing intense heat—like the kind from a roaring furnace—to turn into a liquid. But there's an amazing exception: Gallium.
Gallium is a fascinating metal that you won't find in nature on its own; it's actually produced during the purification of other metals.
You might not spot it on store shelves, but it’s easily available online for the curious experimenter. What makes Gallium so unique is its incredibly low melting point—just 29.7646 °C—which is roughly the same as your body temperature!
Imagine holding a solid piece of Gallium in your hand. As you do, the heat from your skin slowly causes this seemingly ordinary metal to melt into a shimmering, silvery liquid. It’s a mesmerizing transformation that you can witness in this video
Click here to watch the melting of Gallium with the warmth of hands.
(Please note that commercials are authomatically inserted by youtube).
If you want to repeat the experience follow the informations and guidelines
in this web page.
Finally, to tease your curiosity, so you know that there is only one metal
that is liquid at ambient conditions ?
Which one ?
Mercury (Hg). You can look in the web for the astonishing properties of Mercury.
Back to teaching page