Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

(Oct 10, 2026 07:02 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]It's almost plant-like!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/867840236340849

- - - - - - - - Added video excerpt: "This part of the process is pretty short-lived though because it quickly gets covered and protected by the oxide. This prevents fibers from growing directly from the mercury but obviously they continue going out from the sides. [...] The dissolved mercury can continue to creep along the surface and amalgamate more aluminum. In theory this process should keep going until the entire surface is covered with a thick layer of the oxide. The mercury could also penetrate deeper into the aluminum and compromise its strength but I think that takes really long time to do. About 4 hours later I decided to end the time-lapse. I spun the thing around and when I noticed the other side looked a lot cooler I was a little bit sad."