Mercury Beating Heart: Modifications to the Classical Demonstration
Metodija Najdoski, Valentin Mirceski, and Vladimir M. Petruševski
Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Sts. Cyril and Methodius University, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Sani Demiri
Private Yahya Kemal College, ul. Aleksandar, Makedonski, No 221000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
checked by Daniel Rosenberg
Science Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 12138
By analogy with the classical variant of the mercury beating heart (MBH), we propose several demonstrations of the MBH with various solutions of electrolytes, where the beating is generated by external power supply. Details for performing the experiments of MBH are given in this article. Video clips are offered in addition to classical demonstrations with an overhead projector or video camera. Mercury oscillations were observed without physical contact of mercury with the electrodes. When an aqueous solution of sodium sulfate or alkali hydroxide was used as electrolyte, an amalgam formed (even without direct contact between the electrode and mercury drop) and a mechanism is proposed for this phenomenon.
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Videos of these experiments are available for viewing online or download.
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