Now, I am not renowned for my steadiness of hand

[fivemack]

So I'd better ask in advance, after a recent ebay purchase:

how would one get spilt gallium metal out of the carpet?

Explaining any stain to the landlord is likely to strain my powers of rhetoric

['would you like to come round and see my gallium' is also probably not the finest chat-up line yet developed]

Comments

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Maybe metal braid would absorb it, the way it does lead/tin solder? You might try some solder wick.

[shimgray.livejournal.com]

Buying plastic sheeting in advance would seem the smart solution...

(Alternately, incinerate the carpet and collect the residue. This may not go down well, though)

[ellarien]

If I'm Googling correctly, the stuff should be just about solid at normal UK room temperature, but melt at body temperature. Rather similar to chocolate, in fact, which suggests, on the one hand, that it might be possible to deal with it by chilling the area and sweeping, and, on the other hand, that it might be better not to spill it on unprotected carpet in the first place.

[antinomy.livejournal.com]

['would you like to come round and see my gallium' is also probably not the finest chat-up line yet developed]

Unless they're a bird-fan with slightly waxy ears...

I wonder if there's any entymological connection between Gallium and Gallus gallus (the red jungle fowl, and precursor to domestic chickens).

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Yep. Gallium is named after France (Gaul, actually. France was the name of a part of Gaul that expanded to take over the rest) and the French use a rooster/cockerel as their national bird.

I've no idea why the rooster became a symbol for France (I'm sure some of Dubya's cheerleaders could come up with a reasopn, though).

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

Try vacuuming when the temperature is above the melting point, with an extra filter in the vacuum hose.

Gallium loves aluminium, I suppose that you could scatter aluminium granules about and vacuum them after a few days.

I assume that the stain is the shiny gallium plating on the carpet fibers?

[akicif.livejournal.com]

How did this go in the end, please?