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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,sci.physics,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Mercury Filled Speaker Wire
Message-ID: <8576@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-Sep-87 15:15:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.8576
Posted: Mon Sep 14 15:15:01 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 14-Sep-87 15:15:01 EDT
References: <3816@watdcsu.waterloo.edu> <578@uthub.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 22

>   As for why I made the cables (every mail message I've been getting on the
>   topic has asked WHY):  It seemed like a neat thing to do.  The cables
>   certainly look great and they actually work well.  I would have thought
>   that this little project would have been looked apon with interest but
>   the opposite is true...

Those of us who understand the properties of mercury are looking upon it
with horror, mostly.  I hope the room where you've got those things is
well-ventilated and that humans (and other living things) don't spend long
periods of time in it.  I also hope you've got some sort of catcher tray
under the cables, so that if they leak (say from mercury corrosion of the
end seals), the mercury won't end up on the floor.  Once mercury gets into
a wood floor, it can be damn near impossible to get it out well enough to
make the room safe again.

(I know chemists often are kind of casual with mercury.  I got perhaps
halfway to being one before I got diverted into computing.  Chemists are
often kind of casual with far too many things; this may be one reason why
they have a shorter average life expectancy than physicists.)
-- 
"There's a lot more to do in space   |  Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
than sending people to Mars." --Bova | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry