EC19 - Živo srebro / Mercury
Povezava na veljavni urnik ogledov in cenik / Link to actual timetable of guided tours and prices:
IDRIJSKO RUDIŠČE / IDRIJA ORE DOPOSIT
Želite izvedeti več o nastanku živosrebrnega rudišča?
/ Do you want to find out more about ore deposit formation?
Kliknite na spodnjosliko in preberite razlago.
/ Click at picture below, and read more.
AMALGAMACIJA
Živo srebro raztaplja srebro, zlato, cink in mnoge druge kovine in tvori amalgame (iz starolatinskega amalgama – zlitina z živim srebrom), ki so jih uporabljali že leta 500 pr. n. št. Železo je izjema, zato se za shranjevanje živega srebra uporabljajo železne steklenice. Med kovine, ki ne tvorijo amalgamov, spadajo tudi tantal, volfram in platina.
Amalgam tvori tudi s čistim aluminijem. Ker amalgam reagira s kisikom iz zraka in tvori aluminijev oksid, že majhne količine živega srebra korodirajo aluminij. Živega srebra se zato praviloma ne sme prevažati z letali.
AMALGAMATION
Mercury dissolves to form amalgams with silver, gold, zinc and many other metals. Because iron is an exception, iron flasks have been traditionally used to trade mercury. Other metals that do not form amalgams with mercury include tantalum, tungsten and platinum.
Mercury readily combines with aluminium to form a mercury-aluminium amalgam when the two pure metals come into contact. Since the amalgam destroys the aluminium oxide layer which protects metallic aluminium from oxidizing in-depth (as in iron rusting), even small amounts of mercury can seriously corrode aluminium. For this reason, mercury is not allowed aboard an aircraft under most circumstances because of the risk of it forming an amalgam with exposed aluminium parts in the aircraft.
