This is a wedding ring...don't want to do anything to damage the gold.
2006-09-01 16:26:57 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Mercury from a broken thermometer was spilled onto the ring and it bonded.
2006-09-01 16:56:35 · update #1
Heat it. The mercury can absorb into the gold to form an amalgam, and if after cleaning the ring in the area of the spill it shows a silvery sheen then that is what has happened. If you want to try this yourself, place the ring on a block of wood (outdoors, please), and carefully heat it with a propane torch until it just slightly starts to glow -- that will be around 1100 F. Keep it that way for a few minutes, then let it cool and polish it.
2006-09-01 17:10:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only effective way to remove the mercury is by heat. IN THE OPEN AIR as the vapour is very poisonous, put your ring on a block of barbecue charcoal (charcoal helps to reduce the oxidization of your ring) and heat it to glowing red with a blow torch and keep it hot for a minute or so. This will boil the mercury out of the gold. Your ring will be black after this but it is only a very thin layer of oxide and this can be polished off with any good metal polish and some hard rubbing. It is a good idea to remove the mercury as it makes gold brittle and subject to cracking.
2006-09-04 07:21:12 · answer #2 · answered by U.K.Export 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure it can be removed. What has happened is that the mercury formed an amalgam with the gold. I know that gold can be removed from its ores this way, but I think the gold would have to be smelted to remove it. Perhaps you could distill off the mercury, or remove it electrically. Talk to someone in the plating business. You might be able to get an additional layer of gold plating put on over the mercury; I don't really know if that would work. Good luck!
2006-09-02 00:01:13 · answer #3 · answered by cdf-rom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hello here is a link to a site this site is used and updated by the jewellery trade and is open to the public. It has its own search engines type in your question this is a common thing happens a lot have had a look there are a lot of results
Being a wedding ring Is it a plain band no stones.
If you take it to a jeweller to have cleaned
Sometimes the mercury does damage the gold
http://www.ganoksin.com/
2006-09-02 07:11:13 · answer #4 · answered by Eric C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way that any mercury in that ring is coming out is if you heat the thing up to about 1500 degrees. But it is very very unlikely that your ring contains any mercury. Mercury is used in some mining processes, but it is removed before the gold leaves the mine facility because mercury is not cheap and is very hazardous.
2006-09-01 23:31:17 · answer #5 · answered by Steve C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mercury is a God you take his ring and you're in a whole lotta .....
2006-09-01 23:40:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
why/how is there mercury in a ring?
2006-09-01 23:41:19 · answer #7 · answered by christy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nitric acid. But then you have another mess to deal with.
2006-09-02 08:03:01 · answer #8 · answered by alwaysthinkin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋