Gallium

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Gallium

This topic has 21 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 9 May 2022 at 21:04 by Michael Gilligan.

Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)

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7 May 2022 at 10:57 #30223
Michael Gilligan
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@michaelgilligan61133
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7 May 2022 at 10:57 #597306
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
This is worth a look : **LINK**

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-liquid-metal-could-transform-soft-electronics-180980043/

… and the related paper is a free download

MichaelG.
7 May 2022 at 12:51 #597321
Thor 🇳🇴
Participant
@thor
Thanks for the link, new use to me.

Thor
7 May 2022 at 13:09 #597324
DiogenesII
Participant
@diogenesii
Didn't Kawasaki use that for their motorcycle frames?
7 May 2022 at 13:14 #597325
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
7 May 2022 at 14:44 #597332
V8Eng
Participant
@v8eng
Nice when useful materials get discovered .

Edited By V8Eng on 07/05/2022 14:49:29
7 May 2022 at 15:20 #597333
Speedy Builder5
Participant
@speedybuilder5
looks great – main producers are China and Ukraine !!

**LINK**

Skip down to :-

GALLIUM PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

World production of primary gallium from bauxite and zinc was about 95 metric tons in 2008, with the top four producers being China, Germany, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
7 May 2022 at 17:37 #597341
Martin King 2
Participant
@martinking2
An interesting metal!

Must not be allowed any where near an aircraft or anything made of alumnium alloy as it forms a grain boundary solution with zero mechanical strength and a little would go a VERY long way!

Same as mercury also bismuth chucked in a brass or bronze pour totally screws it up!

Funny what you remember from Uni all those years ago!

Cheers, Martin
7 May 2022 at 17:43 #597342
JA
Participant
@ja
Was not Gallium used for doping Germanium in early semiconductors?

Far to busy, or lazy, to look at Wikapedia.

JA
7 May 2022 at 17:49 #597343
V8Eng
Participant
@v8eng
Posted by JA on 07/05/2022 17:43:48:

Was not Gallium used for doping Germanium in early semiconductors?

Far to busy, or lazy, to look at Wikapedia.

JA

I recall something called Gallium Arsenide in respect of that..
7 May 2022 at 19:06 #597349
Samsaranda
Participant
@samsaranda
If it reacts with aluminium like mercury does then it will be deadly with aircraft. We had an aircraft where a stone jar of mercury was smashed in the freight bay and before long we could see daylight through the holes it made in the aircraft pressure skin. Dave W
7 May 2022 at 19:27 #597352
Anonymous
We were using Gallium slip-rings in satellites 50 years ago.

(Particularly memorable because when we finished doing final tests on one flight model satellite, Charlie the test engineer – under the gun schedule-wise – quickly pulled the power plug assuming power was off. It wasn't. Blew the slip rings to kingdom come. And where are the slip rings? …. buried in the centre of the satellite. A complete strip-down and 6 months delay. Poor Charlie.)
7 May 2022 at 19:44 #597353
Mark Rand
Participant
@markrand96270
^^^^^ Oops!
7 May 2022 at 21:40 #597365
Jouke van der Veen
Participant
@joukevanderveen72935
At Delft Technical University I had a colleague who studied the interesting ternary phase diagram of the alloy Gallium-Indium-Mercury. He wrote a PhD-thesis about it with a lot of thermodynamical calculations supported by experiments. More than 40 years ago.

I think gallium must be rather poisonous.

Jouke
7 May 2022 at 22:30 #597374
Georgineer
Participant
@georgineer
Posted by V8Eng on 07/05/2022 17:49:58:

Posted by JA on 07/05/2022 17:43:48:

Was not Gallium used for doping Germanium in early semiconductors?

Far to busy, or lazy, to look at Wikapedia.

JA

I recall something called Gallium Arsenide in respect of that..

Without looking it up, I think GaAs is/was used in red LEDs. I know Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) was.

George
8 May 2022 at 13:14 #597432
noel shelley
Participant
@noelshelley55608
vague recollection that Gallium arsenide was used in early, 60s 70s photo cells ? Noel.
8 May 2022 at 14:09 #597438
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Would I be right in assuming that only a few of the contributors to this thread have yet read the paper that was linked in the article ?

MichaelG.

.

Here’s a brief quote from the introduction:

Given these remarkable properties, why is Ga often overlooked aside from its use in semi-conductors (e.g., GaAs, GaN)? This situation can likely be attributed to several factors. Despite being relatively earth abundant, Ga costs ∼$0.25/g (2020 price) since it is produced by extracting Ga oxide as an impurity found in alumina. Plus, there is an overgeneralized historical association of liquid metals (LMs) with toxicity (e.g., the case of mercury). However, probably the most pragmatic explanation as to why Ga is not widely employed commercially is a result of its surface reactivity. A paper published in Science in 1954 stated: “Despite all precautions, this gallium electrode always behaved erratically” (11, p. 390). We now know that this “erratic” behavior is the result of the high reactivity of Ga with its environment. This reactivity most typically manifests itself in the formation of an ∼1–5-nm-thick native oxide that affects the surface chemistry, wetting, and rheology of Ga. Finally, Ga may get overlooked because it can diffuse into the grain boundaries of certain solid metals, such as Al, leading to significant degradation of mechanical properties.

… after which, the paper concentrates upon the exploitation of the mechanical properties of Gallium [which is why I thought it might be of interest here].
.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 08/05/2022 14:12:11
8 May 2022 at 15:55 #597449
Jouke van der Veen
Participant
@joukevanderveen72935
Gallium has very interesting properties, so to read.
And its alloys even more I think. But not so easy to work with in my house, garden and kitchen applications I fear.
8 May 2022 at 16:46 #597456
JA
Participant
@ja
Posted by Michael Gilligan on 08/05/2022 14:09:14:

Would I be right in assuming that only a few of the contributors to this thread have yet read the paper that was linked in the article ?

MichaelG.

.

Yes, in my case.

I had a very quick look at the article and then got on with life.

JA
8 May 2022 at 17:50 #597462
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
Gallium Arsenide, an allow of Ga and As, is a III-V semiconductor and widely used in microwave and electro-optic devices. Your mobile phone probably has some in it. Gallium Nitride also a key material in microwave devices and increasingly in power devices for applications such as EVs. A most important element.
9 May 2022 at 20:36 #597631
Georgineer
Participant
@georgineer
Posted by Michael Gilligan on 08/05/2022 14:09:14:

Would I be right in assuming that only a few of the contributors to this thread have yet read the paper that was linked in the article ?

Guilty as charged. Should I resign?

George
9 May 2022 at 21:04 #597636
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Posted by Georgineer on 09/05/2022 20:36:16:

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 08/05/2022 14:09:14:

Would I be right in assuming that only a few of the contributors to this thread have yet read the paper that was linked in the article ?

Guilty as charged. Should I resign?

George

.

Not at all, George

… It was just a simple question, by way of ‘audience research’

It had become reasonably obvious that most of the discussion was about the existing uses of Gallium, and not about the content of the paper.

Clearly my starting the thread was ill-judged.

MichaelG.
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