In a message dated 12/28/00 11:07:27 AM EST, [email protected] writes: << Subj: Re: CS>Chewing Gum Releases Mercury From Dental Fillings Date: 12/28/00 11:07:27 AM EST From: [email protected] (Marshall Dudley) Reply-to: [email protected] To: [email protected] [email protected] wrote: > Amalgam is a solid solution where a (usually powdered) metal alloy of > silver, copper, tin, molybdenum, and perhaps a little zinc (depending on the > brand) are mixed together with inorganic pure liquid mercury in a closed > container.. A series of chemical reaction occur and these materials now > make a series of mercury salts. What does mercury combine with to make a salt? All I see here are a group of metals which form an alloy, or an amalgam. Metals cannot combine with metals to form a salt, a metal has to combine with a cation, usually a halogen such as chlorine, or a radical such as nitrate or sulfate to form a salt. If mercury did form a salt, it would likely dissolve rather quickly, as most salts are water soluable to some extent. Marshall >>
Marshall: The good doctor is not a metallurgist so his terminology is a bit off the mark. However, I am a metallurgical engineer so allow me to paraphrase what I THINK Dr. Baratz was trying to say. Metals that form alloys are NOT always resistant to selective leaching. I'm sure many of you who have acidic water have found that brass fittings can become powdery when the zinc component in the brass alloy is selectively leached away, leaving a granular coppery residue. However, certain alloys can form highly stabile intermetallic compounds that are often quite resistant to this selective leaching process. I believe THIS is what Dr., Baratz was referring to although I am neutral with regard to the validity of his remarks because I have no specific knowledge of the (possible) intermetallic compounds he is referring to, and I don't have the resources at hand to identify them. In any case, "ItsSuzy2" has introduced more evidence that dangerous mercury levels may occur from degradation of amalgams so this issue is probably mute. Roger -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
