I was messing around with an old laptop and while I was trying to get the heatsink off I punctured the heat pipe. Is the liquid toxic and what is it?
errr. i wouldn't recommend touching it. if its silverish then its probably mercury and its REALLY toxic. :P
It's not mercury. It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and it may be a proprietary compound, so there's no real way to tell, but common compounds are alcohol or ammonia based; you may be able to tell by smell. It could be something completely different, too; there's really no easy way to tell. It's almost guaranteed to not be mercury; there are much better, safer, cheaper options and the parts never carry Contains Mercury - dispose properly stickers like everything's required to display these days.
errr. i wouldn't recommend touching it. if its silverish then its probably mercury and its REALLY toxic. :P
It's not mercury. It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and it may be a proprietary compound, so there's no real way to tell, but common compounds are alcohol or ammonia based; you may be able to tell by smell. It could be something completely different, too; there's really no easy way to tell. It's almost guaranteed to not be mercury; there are much better, safer, cheaper options and the parts never carry Contains Mercury - dispose properly stickers like everything's required to display these days.
