Gallium: The Metal that Melts in Your Hand!

The chemical element Gallium (Ga) will turn into a liquid at right around body temperature. Because liquid Gallium (and solid as well) is not toxic, it can be molded into a spoon to prank coffee and tea drinkers. When the Gallium spoon hits the hot tea it immediately melts leaving them with just the handle.

Unlike Mercury (Hg), Gallium is considered non-toxic. Even if you get some in your mouth the advice is to just rinse you mouth out and seek medical attention if you don't feel well. I've heard Gallium metal tastes like dirty coins.

In the video I molded the liquid metal Gallium into a spoon using a clay mold. Do note that it took a long time to solidify since Gallium has a melting point of about 30 degreed C.

If you are looking to buy some Gallium it is about $30 USD for 50 grams. That is enough to do some neat stuff with and you melt it, let it cool, melt in, ... over and over.

Gallium (50 grams): https://amzn.to/3pMb6vB
Spoon Mold and Gallium: https://amzn.to/3mNQj8Y

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links used in the description will direct you to Amazon, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

There are three other metals that have lower melting points than Gallium, but Mercury is toxic, Francium is radioactive, and Cesium is highly reactive and over 100 times expensive.

ThermoFisher Scientific --- Safety Data Sheet
"Ingestion: Clean mouth with water and drink afterwards plenty of water. Get medical attention if
symptoms occur."