Comment on brilliant as silver

• sukhmel@programming.dev ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I had to search for “organic mercury”, it’s dimethylmercury and it doesn’t look like mercury at all. Do people really call it “mercury” or “organic mercury”? It’s on par with pounds as a measure of mass, weight, and force by the amount of confusion, I’d say 🤔

  ::: spoiler sad story that was in the top of search results about dimethylmercury: Wikipedia excerpt: Karen Elizabeth Wetterhahn (October 16, 1948 – June 8, 1997), also known as Karen Wetterhahn Jennette, was an American professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, who specialized in toxic metal exposure. She died of mercury poisoning at the age of 48 due to accidental exposure to the extremely toxic organic mercury compound dimethylmercury (Hg(CH3)2). Protective gloves in use at the time of the incident provided insufficient protection, and exposure to only a few drops of the chemical absorbed through the gloves proved to be fatal after less than a year. sad but also a bit ironic fate 🫡 that’s why I prefer not to do dangerous things even when protection and/or safety is in place.

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  • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Do people really call it “mercury” or “organic mercury”? It’s on par with pounds as a measure of mass, weight, and force by the amount of confusion, I’d say

    No, I doubt it. There aren’t very many uses for dimethylmercury due to its potential lethality. I would assume the people who actually use it in a lab setting are going to call it dimethylmercury, especially considering organic mercury usually refers to methylmercury, or one of the other less harmful organomercury compounds.

    I think the confusion probably stems from the original article about the scientist who passed. Dimethylmercury is made from a reaction of methylmercury, and they are both organomercuric compounds.

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  • idiomaddict@feddit.de ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    And currency!

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    • sukhmel@programming.dev ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Forgot about that, this certainly adds insult to an injury spices it up

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  • FilthyHookerSpit@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I think chubbyemu did a video about this lady. Absolutely tragic and heart breaking.

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• Neato@ttrpg.network ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Yeah. Elemental is mostly harmless if you aren’t around it for long and don’t inhale vapors.

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• MyNamesNotRobert@lemmynsfw.com ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Source? I’m not sure who to believe. People on the internet who claim it’s safe enough that you can pick it up or people on the internet who claim kills you if toy touch it.

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  • xkforce@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Chemist here. Organometallic compounds of Mercury are primarily dangerous because Mercury ions bond fairly strongly to soft ligands like sulfhydryl groups found near the active sites of enzymes. This can result in the displacement of the metal ions or otherwise disrupt the structure needed for enzyme functionality. Mercury metal OTOH is considerably less reactive. It is not safe to breathe in for prolonged periods of time but it is no where near as toxic as its organometallic derivatives are. Dimethyl Mercury for example, is extremely dangerous. A single drop has 100+ times the organomercury content needed to kill someone.

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  • henfredemars@infosec.pub ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I think they are saying it depends what you mean by “mercury” because some compounds are both toxic and readily absorbed through the skin.

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    • Godort@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Exactly that. Elemental mercury (ie: the liquid metal form) doesn’t readily absorb through the skin. It gives off vapors which are harmful with extended or repeated contact, but generally it’s not super dangerous to be around.(Not totally safe though)

      Organic mercury compounds (eg: methylmercury) are extremely toxic because they can be absorbed through the skin, and can traverse the blood brain barrier

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    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Regular liquid mercury is relatively safe to handle, but I would still wear gloves. It won’t get through undamaged skin, but is dangerous if you have even a small skin laceration it can get through.

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  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    you can always consult the Material Safety Data Sheet

    its not going to kill you if you touch it- wash hands and call a doctor. they’ll probably be like, “Take two asprin and call me int he morning so I can bill you twice.” you definitely don’t want to inhale it, but outside of something like a fire or being heated, adequate ventilation is sufficient; if ventilation isn’t possible a respirator is a good idea.

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