for anyone concerned about the fumes/vapor - the fountain is housed behind plate glass to keep fumes at bay and to keep people from touching the installation.
The fountain was made by Alexander Calder to commemorate the workers in the mercury mines in Almadén, Spain ... displayed at the '37 Worlds Fair. It's a beautiful piece.
lol the kids are like "HEY GUYZ!!!! lets go swim in that little fountain over there!" and then like 10 mins later everyones like "hey, where did those kids go?...oh... shit"
Now see, if they had hired an engineer to design this fountain instead of an artist, it would be so much cooler. They could have designed it so the mercury would oscillate creating different patterns showing laminar flow. There are just so many ways to improve things like this. And it seems to me that if you're gonna pay the money to build it, you should build something more amazing than a slow trickle.
Here in the US they'd have an area a mile in diameter blocked off and the men in decontamination suits would spend years cleaning up the supposed hazard. People my age played with mercury and even made mercury vapor from mercuric oxide in chemistry class. And we're all still alive!
No. :-) Metallic mercury is not that toxic, as it is not readily absorbed into the body. Soluble mercury compunds like HgCl2 are another thing as it gets easily absorbed. Methyl mercury even through the intact skin - really devilish compound.
@jamie381 Actually, that's at STP. The concentration of mercury in the vapor is very low (something in the ppb range). The light they shine on it is in mercury's absorption spectrum so it casts a shadow on the wall despite being such a thin vapor.
You probably cant see it but the mercury splashing in the reservoir is creating a very fine mercury vapor, inhalation of which is probably worse than oral ingestion due to surface area.
@nlip27 It's in airtight glass chamber and since it's a public place I suppose they do get visited by local health&safety pretty often to check if it's fine. Enjoy the view!
Not always. It's a metal, so, like all metals, it can solidify. Mercury simply has a melting temperature that is far below your typical day on Earth. ( :
@Ibogaine306 Its definitely a metal in the fountain. Mercury has the reputation of being the only metal that's liquid at room temp. But what people don't realize is that there are a few other metals that are Liquid at somewhat higher temperatures. the element gallium is one such metal it can melt in your hand and is much safer to use than mercury and much less dense as well.
Ever had a warm bath in a cold room? Did you see all that steam coming off even though the water is just above body temperature? My point is that a liquid doesn't have to boil to become vapour. Some molecules in the liquid will still have enough energy to escape in to the atmosphere as gas. Also, my theory is that the fountain is full of slightly heated Gallium. If it were mercury the surface tension would be making it buldge out more.
@3neboy he/she was saying that because mercury is dangerous even in small levels. Mercury used to be found in thermostats and some people still have them around. Most people know that there is a good chance that you will get some kind of disease if you had been around high levels of mercury in your life.
Ya ... so the moral is: "don't keep fountains of poison flowing around" :) I still think it's relatively safe since the vapor will be most likely to preseptate on the ground due to it's high density or it will be trapped in the hole at which the Mercury is present resisting diffusion because of it's way-too-great density to float around and cause trouble (again, I hope)
Its most likely from the Almadén Mines in Spain. watch?v=Ud5HDwsIErs The mines were discovered by the Romans and later the mercury was exported to The New World, where the mercury was used to extract gold from gold ore. The mines are still producing mercury, and one of the mine was recently declared a UNSCO World heritage site and turned into a mining heritage museum.
The poisonous part of mercury is actually the gas, so that would be extremely poisonous to be anywhere near at all. The owners of that museum probably covered up several employee deaths.
gallium melts at 23 degrees Celsius, so it is reasonable that in a hot country/heated exhibit that it is gallium which is not poisonous, unless maby you drink it
It is mercury. You can find pictures of the mercury fountain online if you google it. Seems that the fountain is contained in a closed space by glass walls or something.
dracomaster4--> Thanks for pointing out that it was sealed. I was rather disturbed by the thought of all those museum goers being slowly poisoned by the vapors.
I have to agree with Exoime, that is definitely not Mercury metal. It would create all sorts of hazardous madness inducing vapors. It must be a pool of warm Gallium/Bismuth metal.
@blueduderanch yea I know I kind of learned that later on, I wish a simple hand wash would make it all better because its just such a cool thing to touch, of course this was when I was young and its not like I touched it every day, it was like twice and I guess my uncle threw it away or something
We made a mercury fountain in the lab today with a gas viscometer. Spectacular seeing a pressurised spray of mercury. Then it went a bit wrong and mercury got sprayed everywhere. Stay safe kids.
AAH!! i've seen this in real life! its SOOO cool i was standing there for half an hour just watching it, its soo great shame its in a glas enclosure, looks like it would be fun to touch :P
at any liquid state, some evaporation takes place, even with metals, but unless you lived there, you probably will not be affected by the mercury content in the air
Not only are mercury fumes deadly to breathe in, Mercury can be absorbed through the skin by touch. Once in your bloodstream, it can prove to be fatal. Cool fountain though. :D
that thing probably weighs tons. of and for those that dont know not all mercury is poisonous, there are two kinds, one that its and one that isnt. what baffles me is since its so dense how well would you float. i know for a fact a cannon ball floats like a cork in mercury
to all of you out there who think this is mercury on the fountain it probably isn't. Gallium is what they are probably using. Its not Liquid at room temp like Mercury but at a comfortable 85 degrees Fahrenheit it'll melt so they prolly have a heater under the pool to keep the metal melted.
@dotchoo Mercury itself is not that harmful. Theoretically you could drink small amounts of mercury without facing any problems (please dont try that!), since Hg in its metallic form does not get incorporated by the body. The real threat about it is that it starts vaporizing already at room temperature (though its boiling point is much higher) and the gas produced (guess some kind of HgO) is very toxic. Since you can not see vaporization process (the gas is colorless in this state),
All liquids have a vapor pressure. Some are very large like acetone, others are small like mercury which is 0.00185 torr at room temperature. Though the vapor pressure is small it still causes mercury concentration to exceed exposer limits 400 fold. That is at 25 C or room temperature, so no you don't need to "pour the coal to her". Please don't comment on things you know nothing about jdb1986jdb1986. The spanish goverment has it behind glass for a reason and they do monitor Hg levels.
@SillyLitleGirl by the looks of the video, its behind a glass wall. so, at most the room its sealed in is filled to the brim with mercurial vapors, and chances are its very well ventilated
now that i look at it i'd have to agree unless someone will post up some info to disprove his theory. It doesn't ball up like mercury and gallium will melt from body heat so that would make more sense because it's not toxic. However it is about $40 for 2grams of it.
@white0fange0beast the elemental form of mecury is not as toxic as industrial forms, infact elemental forms can be ingested with out death occurring(although its not recommended)
not likely, people used to work around exposed mercury before the knowledge of how poisonous it was. prolonged exposure could cause serious damage, however going inside the chamber wouldn't kill you that very second or in the fallowing week.
This fountain IS filled with only mercury. Alexander Calder designed this fountain, with actual mercury, for the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. It was in the entrance hall, opposite Picasso's Guernica, also designed especially for the exhibition. Like Picasso's painting, this sculpture is a political statement, protesting Franco's siege of the Almadén mercury mines during the Spanish Civil War. Today the fountain is housed behind glass. Look it up before saying its fake.
bob:hey look a pool! steve:cool, i wanna go in! bob:you can if you want but... steve:canon ball! bob:HOLY CRAP its mercury! steve:sooo whats wrong... bob:um your kind of gonna die steve:your point? bob:umm... bob walks away 5 seconds later steve was found dead by obama
In the 20s or 30s, at one of the World Fairs in the US, someone made a very large mercury fountain. I would have loved to see what it looked like. Of course, they didn't get to use it for very long because the fumes from the mercury are deadly poisonous and it made loads of people sick, just like I'm sure this fountain did wherever it is at. I never thought I'd get to see such a thing since it's such a tremendously bad idea to actually implement.
for anyone concerned about the fumes/vapor - the fountain is housed behind plate glass to keep fumes at bay and to keep people from touching the installation.
mercury fumes/vapor isn't really much of an issue until you heat it.
The fountain was made by Alexander Calder to commemorate the workers in the mercury mines in Almadén, Spain ... displayed at the '37 Worlds Fair. It's a beautiful piece.
I bet when they envisioned this it seemed a great deal cooler than the finished product.
I can't believe they made the Hazy Maze Cave a real thing.
lol the kids are like "HEY GUYZ!!!! lets go swim in that little fountain over there!" and then like 10 mins later everyones like "hey, where did those kids go?...oh... shit"
Now see, if they had hired an engineer to design this fountain instead of an artist, it would be so much cooler. They could have designed it so the mercury would oscillate creating different patterns showing laminar flow. There are just so many ways to improve things like this. And it seems to me that if you're gonna pay the money to build it, you should build something more amazing than a slow trickle.
Here in the US they'd have an area a mile in diameter blocked off and the men in decontamination suits would spend years cleaning up the supposed hazard.
People my age played with mercury and even made mercury vapor from mercuric oxide in chemistry class. And we're all still alive!
seen that. barcelona is amazing, a must visit for anyone. hell Spain as a whole is incredible.
lol.
*baths in this* "AHH, feels like death!" couple second later, dead
No. :-) Metallic mercury is not that toxic, as it is not readily absorbed into the body.
Soluble mercury compunds like HgCl2 are another thing as it gets easily absorbed. Methyl mercury even through the intact skin - really devilish compound.
Haw Haw Delightful! So Disarming, So Innocent Yet So Effective!
@jamie381 Actually, that's at STP. The concentration of mercury in the vapor is very low (something in the ppb range). The light they shine on it is in mercury's absorption spectrum so it casts a shadow on the wall despite being such a thin vapor.
i was there!! miro museum high in the hills above Barcelona.
I do not care if its a neurotoxin, its probably the most sexy thing I have ever seen in my life.
@phoenixrisinghigh Yep. I read about this fountain some time ago and they did in fact build it in a sealed room to keep the vapor contained.
If you jump there you travel to Hazy Maze Cave.
It's good that the fountain is sealed behind glass so it can't hurt anyone.
yes. It's 13 times denser than water, and even iron floats on it! If you had enough of it, like in that fountain, you could definitely walk on it.
You probably cant see it but the mercury splashing in the reservoir is creating a very fine mercury vapor, inhalation of which is probably worse than oral ingestion due to surface area.
"...Well, iv got 2 fountains you can swim in. Wait, no, DONT!"
"Mommy, that cool looking silver water tastes funny...... and i think i have a headache"
"yes, and i think i have a lawsuit"
There is a transparent metachrylate wall to protect people of fountain, that is located in a outside yard. Very nice.
Reminds me of the portal thing in Super Mario 64. :D
So cool!! that is alot of mercury!
@nlip27 It's in airtight glass chamber and since it's a public place I suppose they do get visited by local health&safety pretty often to check if it's fine. Enjoy the view!
This is in Barcelona. Joan Miro Foundation, It's Real, sealed in a glass room, and its amazing.
poison has never looked so good
Wow thanks for putting a response to my comment on youtube. Seriously your mother must be so proud.
Uranium metal is actually fairly harmless. It's just hazardous when it's enriched.
Despite the toxicity, you have to admit that that is one of the most mesmerizing fountains out there.
Perfect for a primary school playground! I hope this is as tasty as a chocolate fountain.
you'd think that the fumes emited from the mercury would be enough that they wouldn't have that fountian but it's still cool
The metal itself pretty common. Some clay soils contain mercury. The expense comes from the necessary handling procedures.
That makes me feel ill just looking at it, but it's such a badass concept.
They should make another Jackass 3D with someone taking a bath in this fountain :D
I just love the sound of children in the background... that just makes it so much... scary..
Not always. It's a metal, so, like all metals, it can solidify. Mercury simply has a melting temperature that is far below your typical day on Earth. ( :
This is a work by Alexander Calder. The room that contains it is sealed, so there is no danger to those outside the glass.
@Ibogaine306 Its definitely a metal in the fountain. Mercury has the reputation of being the only metal that's liquid at room temp. But what people don't realize is that there are a few other metals that are Liquid at somewhat higher temperatures. the element gallium is one such metal it can melt in your hand and is much safer to use than mercury and much less dense as well.
I can just see some homeless guy breaking in at night and sneaking a sip thinking it's water.
Ever had a warm bath in a cold room? Did you see all that steam coming off even though the water is just above body temperature? My point is that a liquid doesn't have to boil to become vapour. Some molecules in the liquid will still have enough energy to escape in to the atmosphere as gas.
Also, my theory is that the fountain is full of slightly heated Gallium. If it were mercury the surface tension would be making it buldge out more.
@3neboy he/she was saying that because mercury is dangerous even in small levels. Mercury used to be found in thermostats and some people still have them around. Most people know that there is a good chance that you will get some kind of disease if you had been around high levels of mercury in your life.
dude he zooms in on it as it goes down into the pool, it does exactly what mercury does.
@tedtw Below a certain temperature, mercury does not let off fumes. However, that would mean this room that this fountain is in must be fairly chilly.
Ya ... so the moral is: "don't keep fountains of poison flowing around" :)
I still think it's relatively safe since the vapor will be most likely to preseptate on the ground due to it's high density or it will be trapped in the hole at which the Mercury is present resisting diffusion because of it's way-too-great density to float around and cause trouble (again, I hope)
It's art, it doesn't matter how much it costs, frankly.
Its most likely from the Almadén Mines in Spain.
watch?v=Ud5HDwsIErs
The mines were discovered by the Romans and later the mercury was exported to The New World, where the mercury was used to extract gold from gold ore. The mines are still producing mercury, and one of the mine was recently declared a UNSCO World heritage site and turned into a mining heritage museum.
The poisonous part of mercury is actually the gas, so that would be extremely poisonous to be anywhere near at all. The owners of that museum probably covered up several employee deaths.
gallium melts at 23 degrees Celsius, so it is reasonable that in a hot country/heated exhibit that it is gallium which is not poisonous, unless maby you drink it
It is mercury. You can find pictures of the mercury fountain online if you google it.
Seems that the fountain is contained in a closed space by glass walls or something.
dracomaster4--> Thanks for pointing out that it was sealed. I was rather disturbed by the thought of all those museum goers being slowly poisoned by the vapors.
This is AFAIR mercury, but It also can be alloy of gallium, indium, and tin (Galinstan). It has melting point (triple eutectic) at about -19 deg C.
that is one of the coolest things ive ever seen. thanks for posting :)
I have to agree with Exoime, that is definitely not Mercury metal. It would create all sorts of hazardous madness inducing vapors. It must be a pool of warm Gallium/Bismuth metal.
the video camera doesn't do it justice; i would love to see this in person
it's water, the the light shining of it makes it look metallic.
@blueduderanch yea I know I kind of learned that later on, I wish a simple hand wash would make it all better because its just such a cool thing to touch, of course this was when I was young and its not like I touched it every day, it was like twice and I guess my uncle threw it away or something
Mercury is beautiful.
And it seem to be off limits, since there's a glass wall in between.
We made a mercury fountain in the lab today with a gas viscometer. Spectacular seeing a pressurised spray of mercury. Then it went a bit wrong and mercury got sprayed everywhere.
Stay safe kids.
It is mercury - the fountain is displayed behind glass. Yes it was super expensive, but just think how much a bronze statue costs.
AAH!!
i've seen this in real life!
its SOOO cool
i was standing there for half an hour just watching it, its soo great
shame its in a glas enclosure, looks like it would be fun to touch :P
ughh i dont know how i missed that when I went to Barcelona. im sad now.
It is, but I think it's behind glass, as you see reflections of people on what is probably a glass panel.
Pure mercury isn't that bad, however the organic compounds of mercury are DEADLY.
@MoccaJoe1 actually mercury is methylated by bacteria, and dimethyl mercury is very volatile and is readily absorbed into your bloodstream.
at any liquid state, some evaporation takes place, even with metals, but unless you lived there, you probably will not be affected by the mercury content in the air
So this is what the T-1000 from Terminator 2 is doing in retirement... not bad.
To clarify, this fountain is surrounded by thick glass. You can't get close and won't die from the toxic fumes
Not only are mercury fumes deadly to breathe in, Mercury can be absorbed through the skin by touch. Once in your bloodstream, it can prove to be fatal. Cool fountain though. :D
soo...thirsty.... *sees fountain*
ooh!
that thing probably weighs tons. of and for those that dont know not all mercury is poisonous, there are two kinds, one that its and one that isnt. what baffles me is since its so dense how well would you float. i know for a fact a cannon ball floats like a cork in mercury
LOL So true! why don't you try jumping into it. Don't let those flames scare you!
You can reflections which means it's sealed off, obviously they would have it within reach of people.
@Wilson1592 obviously the faint reflections seen in-front of the camera and the windows behind the fountain mean its not
@SwiftCuber
also its not that noticeable but its enclosed in a glass/plastic barrier
@soundslave ye, if you look really closely you can make out a reflection...
its proably fenced off by glass or something
to all of you out there who think this is mercury on the fountain it probably isn't. Gallium is what they are probably using. Its not Liquid at room temp like Mercury but at a comfortable 85 degrees Fahrenheit it'll melt so they prolly have a heater under the pool to keep the metal melted.
@xllSupermanllx I think it's encased in glass. You can see a reflection of a person at the start of the video to the right of the red circle
@dotchoo Mercury itself is not that harmful. Theoretically you could drink small amounts of mercury without facing any problems (please dont try that!), since Hg in its metallic form does not get incorporated by the body. The real threat about it is that it starts vaporizing already at room temperature (though its boiling point is much higher) and the gas produced (guess some kind of HgO) is very toxic. Since you can not see vaporization process (the gas is colorless in this state),
you are right. But as you can see, the fountain is in closed compartment, rpobably with good ventilation :)
All liquids have a vapor pressure. Some are very large like acetone, others are small like mercury which is 0.00185 torr at room temperature. Though the vapor pressure is small it still causes mercury concentration to exceed exposer limits 400 fold. That is at 25 C or room temperature, so no you don't need to "pour the coal to her". Please don't comment on things you know nothing about jdb1986jdb1986. The spanish goverment has it behind glass for a reason and they do monitor Hg levels.
so cool looking
@SillyLitleGirl by the looks of the video, its behind a glass wall. so, at most the room its sealed in is filled to the brim with mercurial vapors, and chances are its very well ventilated
Chances are, it's well sealed and not ventilated. You don't want to emit Hg vapors into the environment all the time.
now that i look at it i'd have to agree unless someone will post up some info to disprove his theory. It doesn't ball up like mercury and gallium will melt from body heat so that would make more sense because it's not toxic. However it is about $40 for 2grams of it.
That's the coolest thing I've ever in my life seen.
ive always been fascinated with mercury, it was like a liquid mirror. only i was always to afraid to get nea it knowing about its poisonus traits.
Kid:" cool a mini swimming pool. "
*jumps in *
*You just hit the surface*
The comments on this video are a veritable fountain of information about mercury!
@white0fange0beast the elemental form of mecury is not as toxic as industrial forms, infact elemental forms can be ingested with out death occurring(although its not recommended)
you could step into that pool and sink about 1 cm so basically you would walk on it
Its because the mercury is more dense than us
Yep, mercury has a much much higher surface tension. Anyone who can see can tell that stuff is flowing thick
Miro Museum: Where everyone goes home a little crazier than when they arrived.
a shot of that with salt and lime...... ohhhh yehhhhh :D
not likely, people used to work around exposed mercury before the knowledge of how poisonous it was. prolonged exposure could cause serious damage, however going inside the chamber wouldn't kill you that very second or in the fallowing week.
This fountain IS filled with only mercury.
Alexander Calder designed this fountain, with actual mercury, for the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. It was in the entrance hall, opposite Picasso's Guernica, also designed especially for the exhibition. Like Picasso's painting, this sculpture is a political statement, protesting Franco's siege of the Almadén mercury mines during the Spanish Civil War. Today the fountain is housed behind glass.
Look it up before saying its fake.
This is a safest thing I have ever seen.
woah, i want one at home! :-D
bob:hey look a pool!
steve:cool, i wanna go in!
bob:you can if you want but...
steve:canon ball!
bob:HOLY CRAP its mercury!
steve:sooo whats wrong...
bob:um your kind of gonna die
steve:your point?
bob:umm...
bob walks away
5 seconds later steve was found dead by obama
It would be cool if they had some heavy objects floating in there, like some steel ball bearings.
Who filled my jacuzzi with unicorn blood?
In the 20s or 30s, at one of the World Fairs in the US, someone made a very large mercury fountain. I would have loved to see what it looked like. Of course, they didn't get to use it for very long because the fumes from the mercury are deadly poisonous and it made loads of people sick, just like I'm sure this fountain did wherever it is at. I never thought I'd get to see such a thing since it's such a tremendously bad idea to actually implement.