When mercury is added to aluminum, it forms an amalgam (a mercury alloy). Aluminum is normally protected by a thick oxide layer, but the formation of the amalgam disrupts it. It allows fresh aluminum to react with air to form white aluminum oxide. As the oxide grows, it forms as these cool white fibers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NileRed Store - null ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ■ NileRed is now available on Nebula! https://go.nebula.tv/nilered (when signing up with this link, a portion of your membership directly supports the channel) Join the community: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/nilered Discord - https://discord.com/invite/3BT6UHf NileRed Newsletter - https://nile.red/home#newsletter You can also find me here: Facebook - https://m.facebook.com/NileRed2 Instagram - https://m.instagram.com/nile.red Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/NileRed2 Nile talks about lab safety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftACSEJ6DZA Music in credits (Walker by SORRYSINES): https://soundcloud.com/sorrysines/walker