Gallium source

Try Accumet Materials at 914-762-1540. Ask for Dr. Freeman.

Gallium is around $2000 per pound right now. What is your use for the metal?

I'm experimenting with liquid mirrors. Cost is going to rule out gallium. Thanks for your input.

I've heard that used motor oil on water works but haven't tried it yet. Any other suggestions?

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%22low+melting+alloys%22&btnG=Search&meta=

To create a ceramic mirror, or perhaps:

"...Gallium readily alloys with most metals, and has been used as a component in low-melting alloys. The plutonium used in nuclear weapon pits is machined by alloying with gallium to stabilize the allotropes of plutonium..." - Wiki

It also has some bizarre / exotic use separating water:

"...When gallium is alloyed with aluminium it can be used to break the bond between hydrogen and oxygen in water. A reaction occurs when water is added to the alloy which produces hydrogen and aluminium oxide. This could potentially provide a solid hydrogen source for transportation purposes, which would be more convenient than a pressurized hydrogen tank.^[7] Resmelting the resultant aluminum oxide and gallium mixture to metallic aluminum and gallium and reforming these into electrodes would constitute most of the energy input into the system, while electricity produced by a hydrogen fuel cell could constitute an energy output.^[8]The thermodynamic efficiency of the aluminum smelting process is said to be approximately 50 percent. Therefore, at most no more than half the energy that goes into smelting aluminum could be recovered by a fuel cell..."

Neat.

We go through quite a lot of gallium at our facility. We purchase all of our gallium (and most unconventional materials) from Atlantic Metals and Alloys in Stratford, CT. Call and ask for Dave (203) 378-9025.

www.americanelements.com/gam.html

I don't know how competitive their gallium prices are, but have a look at two of my favorite sites for purchasing chemicals:

http://smart-elements.com

http://unitednuclear.com

American elements is very highly priced retail stuff.

I think they prey on school kids

Suggest you contact: Greg at Gallium Compounds LLC (918) 673-2511.

Low(er) grade gallium metal obtainable at around $200. per pound for scientific endeavours.

Hi

another exotic use is in x-ray tubes as hydrodynamic (herringbone-type) bearings:
easily melted at low temperature but almost no evaporation at high temperature and very low pressure.

Concerning the breakup of water into hydrogen and oxygen this is the action on the naturally forming oxide layer that is protecting the aluminum. Pure aluminum with no oxide layer is highly reactive with water.

Mercury is acting in the same way. This was causing one of the accidents in the early russian nuclear reactors in the 50ties -the line of fast breeders was abandoned after an aluminum tubing in some sensitive part leaked after contamination with mercury caused severe corrosion.

RHABE