Gallium Characteristics

Gallium has a few notable characteristics which are summarized below:

• In its solid phase, Gallium is blue-grey in color
• It melts in temperatures warmer than room temperature; therefore, if you were to hold a chunk of gallium in your hand, it will start to liquefy.
• Solid gallium is soft and can easily be cut with a knife.
• It is stable in air and water, but reacts and dissolves in acids and alkalis.
• If solidifying, gallium expands by 3.1 percent and thus storage in glass or metal is avoided.
• It also easily to transform into an alloy with many metals and has been used in nuclear bombs to stabilize the crystal structure.
• Gallium is one of the few metals that can replace the use the mercury in thermometers because its melting point is close to room temperature.