Galinstan is an eutectic alloy of gallium, indium, and tin which is liquid at room temperature, typically freezing at -20 °C (-4 °F). Due to the low toxicity of its component metals, it finds use as a non-toxic replacement for many applications which currently employ liquid mercury or sodium-potassium alloy (NaK). Composition: 68.5% Ga, 21.5% In, 10% Sn. Its name is a portmanteau of gallium, indium, and stannum (Latin for "tin"). A eutectic or eutectic mixture is a mixture of two or more elements which has a lower melting point than any of its constituents. ... An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gallium, Ga, 31 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 4, p Appearance silvery white   Atomic mass 69. ... General Name, Symbol, Number indium, In, 49 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Atomic mass 114. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Atomic mass 118. ... The degree Celsius (symbol: °C) is an SI derived unit of temperature. ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 200. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 39. ... NaK (often pronounced as such, rhyming with sack) is an alloy of sodium and potassium, and particularly one that is liquid at room temperatures. ... Look up Portmanteau word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Physical properties

Galinstan from a broken thermometer, easily wetting a piece of glass.

• Boiling point: > 1300 °C
• Melting point: - 19 °C
• Vapour pressure: at 500 °C < 10-8 Torr
• Density: 6.44 g/cm³
• Solubility: Insoluble in water or organic solvents

Galinstan tends to wet and adhere to many materials, including glass, which limits its use compared to mercury. Galinstan thermometers can be made if the inner tube is first coated with gallium oxide to prevent the alloy from wetting the glass surface. Image File history File links Galinstan_on_glass. ... Image File history File links Galinstan_on_glass. ... Wetting of different fluids. ... An oxide is a chemical compound of oxygen with other chemical elements. ...

Galinstan is commercially used as a mercury replacement in thermometers due to its nontoxic properties. Close up of a maximum thermometer. ...

Galinstan has higher reflectivity and lower density than mercury; it is investigated as a replacement of mercury in liquid mirror telescopes for astronomy. It is also a promising coolant, though its cost and aggressivity are major obstacles for its use. Liquid mirrors are mirrors made with reflective liquids. ... 50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory. ... Radio telescopes are among many different tools used by astronomers Astronomy (Greek: αστρονομία = άστρον + νόμος, astronomia = astron + nomos, literally, law of the stars) is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ... A coolant, or heat transfer fluid, is a fluid which flows through a device in order to prevent its overheating, transferring the heat produced by the device to other devices that utilize or dissipate it. ...

Galinstan cannot be used for cooling nuclear reactors, because indium has high cross section for thermal neutrons, efficiently absorbing them and inhibiting the fission reaction. Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Eutectic

A eutectic or eutectic mixture is a mixture of two or more elements which has a lower melting point than any of its constituents. ...

Reference

• MSDS info for galistan

External link

• Scitoys.com: Liquid metal