In this video we demonstrate the structural failure of an aluminum baseball bat induced by gallium metal.
First the aluminum metal baseball bat is filed to removed the surface layer of paint and aluminum oxide. The bat is then placed in a beaker of molten gallium and allowed to diffuse through for a couple of days. Afterward the normally strong bat is rendered extremely weak and can easily be broken with just physical strength.
What's happening is the gallium metal is diffusing in between the grain boundaries of the aluminum microcrystals and disrupts their bonding. Being unable to bond together the aluminum is rendered extremely weak. Some of the aluminum also dissolves into the gallium to form an alloy. Some people say it's an amalgam but that's a misnomer. Amalgams are mercury based alloys. Just like steels are normally iron based alloys. While some specific gallium alloys have specific names like galinstan, as a class, gallium alloys don't have a special name and they're just c...
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