Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes. Various
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This use has been abandoned on account of the inconvenience occasioned by the great changeableness of the product.
II.—The amalgam of 30 per cent of copper, designated by the name of “metallic mastic,” is an excellent cement for repairing objects and utensils of porcelain. For this employment, the broken surfaces are heated to 662° F., and a little of the amalgam, previously heated to the consistency of melted wax, is applied.
III.—Copper amalgam, of 30 to 45 per cent of copper, rendered plastic by heating and grinding, may serve for obtaining with slight compression copies of delicate objects, which may, after hardening of the amalgam, be reproduced, either in wax or by galvanic process.
IV.—According to Debray, when a medal, obtained with an amalgam of 45 per cent of copper, by compression in the soft state, in molds of gutta percha, is heated progressively to redness in an atmosphere of hydrogen, the quicksilver is volatilized gradually, and the particles of copper come together without fusion in such a way as to produce a faithful reproduction, formed exclusively of metallic copper, of the original medal.
V.—In the metallurgy of gold, the crushers are furnished with amalgamated plates of copper for retaining the gold. The preparation of these plates, {88} which are at least 0.128 inches in thickness, is delicate, requiring about two weeks. They are freed from greasy matter by rubbing with ashes, or, better, with a little sand and caustic soda, or if more rapid action is desired, with a cloth dipped in dilute nitric acid; they are washed with water, then with a solution of potassium cyanide, and finally brushed with a mixture of sal ammoniac and a little quicksilver, until the surface is completely amalgamated. They are finally made to absorb as much quicksilver as possible. But the plates thus treated are useful for only a few days when they are sufficiently covered with a layer of gold amalgam; in the meantime they occasion loss of time and of gold. So it is preferable to cover them artificially with a little gold amalgam, which is prepared by dissolving gold in quicksilver. Sometimes the amalgam of gold is replaced by an amalgam of silver, which is readily poured and more economical.
Another method giving better results consists in silvering copper slabs by electroplating and covering them with a layer of silver. Then it is only necessary to apply a little quicksilver, which adheres quite rapidly, so that they are ready for use almost immediately, and are quite active at the outset.
These amalgamation slabs ought to be cleaned before each operation. Potassium cyanide removes fatty matter, and sal ammoniac the oxides of the low metals.
Applications Of Lead Amalgams.
—These meet with an interesting employment for the autogenous soldering of lead. After the surfaces to be soldered have been well cleaned, a layer of lead amalgam is applied. It is afterwards sufficient to pass along the line of junction a soldering iron heated to redness, in order that the heat should cause the volatilization of the quicksilver, and that the lead, liberated in a state of fine division, should be melted and cause the adherence of the two surfaces. The only precaution necessary is to avoid breathing the mercurial vapor, which is quite poisonous.
Applications Of Bismuth Amalgams.
—The amalgam formed of 1 per cent of bismuth and 4 parts of quicksilver will cause the strong adherence of glass. It is employed with advantage in the tinning of glass globes. For this operation it is poured into a dry hot receiver, and then passed over the whole surface of the glass; it solidifies on cooling. For the purpose of economizing the bismuth, the price of which is high, the preceding amalgam is replaced by another composed of 2 parts of quicksilver, 1 part of bismuth, 1 part of lead, and 1 part of tin. The bismuth, broken into small fragments, is added to the tin and lead, previously melted in the crucible, and when the mixture of the three metals becomes fluid, the quicksilver is poured in, while stirring with an iron rod. The impurities floating on the surface are removed, and when the temperature is sufficiently lowered this amalgam is slowly poured into the vessels to be tinned, which have been previously well cleaned and slightly heated. M. Ditte recommends for the same employment, as a very strong adherent to the glass, an amalgam obtained by dissolving hot 2 parts of bismuth and 1 part of lead in a solution of 1 part of tin in 10 parts of quicksilver. By causing a quantity of this amalgam to move around the inside of a receiver, clean, dry, and slightly heated, the surface will be covered with a thin, brilliant layer, which hardens quite rapidly.
For the injection of anatomical pieces an amalgam formed of 10 parts of quicksilver, 50 parts of bismuth, 31 parts of lead, and 18 parts of tin, fusible at 77.5° and solidifiable at 60° C., is made use of; or, again, an amalgam composed of 9 parts of Darcet alloy and 1 part of quicksilver fusible at 127 1/2° F., and pasty at a still lower temperature. This last amalgam may also be used for filling carious teeth. The Darcet alloy, as known, contains 2 parts of bismuth, 1 part of lead, and 1 part of tin, and melts at 199 1/2° F. The addition of 1 part of quicksilver lowers the fusing point to 104° F.
Applications Of Silver Amalgams.
—I.—In the silvering of mirrors by the Petitjean method, which has almost universally replaced tinning, the property of silver in readily amalgamating is taken advantage of, by substituting the glass after silvering to the action of a dilute solution of double cyanide of mercury and potassium in such a manner as to form an amalgam of white and brilliant silver adhering strongly to the glass. To facilitate the operation and utilize all the silver, while economizing the double cyanide, M. Lenoir has recommended the following: Sprinkle the glass at the time when it is covered with the mercurial solution with very fine zinc powder, which precipitates the quicksilver and regulates the amalgamation.
II.—The metallurgy of silver also takes advantage of the property of this {89} metal in combining cold with quicksilver; this for the treatment of poor silver ores.
In the Saxon or Freiburg process for treating silver ores, recourse is had to quicksilver in the case of amalgam in amalgamating casks, in which the ore, after grinding, is shaken with disks of iron, and with mercury and water. The amalgam, collected and filtered under strong pressure, contains from 30 to 33 per cent of silver. It is distilled either in cylindrical retorts of cast iron, furnished with an exit tube immersed in the water for condensing the mercurial vapors, or on plates of iron, arranged over each other along a vertical iron stem, supported by a tripod at the bottom of a tank filled with water, and covered with an iron receiver, which is itself surrounded with ignited charcoal. It should be remarked that the last portions of quicksilver in a silver amalgam submitted to distillation are volatilized only under the action of a high and prolonged temperature.
Applications Of Gold Amalgams.
—I.—Gilding with quicksilver. This process of gilding, much employed formerly, is now but little used. It can be applied only to metals slightly fusible and capable of amalgamation, like silver, copper, bronze, and brass. Iron can also be gilded by this method, provided it is previously covered with a coating of copper. To perform this gilding the surface is well cleaned, and the gold amalgam, consisting of 2 parts of gold and 1 part of quicksilver, prepared as mentioned before, is applied. The piece is afterwards heated to about the red, so as to volatilize the mercury. The gold remains, superficially alloyed with the metal, and forms an extremely solid layer of deadened gold, which can be afterwards polished. The volatilization should be effected under a chimney having strong draught, in order to avoid the poisonous action of the mercurial vapors.
II.—The amalgamation of gold finds its principal applications in the treatment of auriferous ores. The extraction of small spangles of gold scattered in gold-bearing sands is based on the ready dissolution of gold in quicksilver, and on the formation of an amalgam of solid gold by compression and filtering through a chamois skin, in a state more or less liquid. The spangles of gold are shaken with about their weight of quicksilver, collected in the cavities of sluices and mixed with a small quantity of sand. The gold is dissolved and the sand remains. The amalgam thus obtained is compressed in a chamois skin, so as to separate the excess of mercury which passes through the pores of the skin; or, yet again, it is filtered through a glass funnel having a very slender stem, with almost