Think of aluminum and you probably think of soda cans or tinfoil or this steak that was covered in molten aluminum for some reason. But whether it’s molten or solid, it’s never really brittle. But in one of his latest videos, YouTuber NurdRage unleashes a bane of metals, gallium, on a bat, causing it to eventually fall apart like a frozen T-1000.
The video begins with NurdRage filing the paint off an aluminum bat and then placing it in a beaker. The beaker is then filled with gallium, a metal that does not occur as a free element in nature, but does have some peculiar properties like melting at a very low temperature (85.5 degrees Fahrenheit). Gallium also has a penchant for “attacking” other metals by diffusing into their grain boundaries, and turning them brittle.In the case of NurdRage’s aluminum bat, after a few days in the liquid gallium (which looks super similar to mercury), its structural integrity is completely shot. The gallium has diffused between the aluminum crystals’ grain boundaries and has destroyed their bonds.
And because the aluminum bat soaked up the gallium, not only the tip of the bat was affected: all of the bat up until just a few inches above the handle was turned into a brittle shell like that of a chocolate egg (mmmmm… gallium Cadbury Eggs).
But maybe we should be happy that a fellow whose moniker is NurdRage no longer has an aluminum bat at his disposal, especially considering the fact that he said that “baseball bats are used to motivate people that owe you money.” (We’re just kidding, NurdRage seems like a very nice Canadian person.)
What do you think of NurdRage’s gallium-infused antics? Do you also think it looks strangely satisfying to crunch a brittle aluminum bat in the palm of your hand? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Images: NurdRage
