Can the TSA detect Gallium?

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
Forget explosives to wreck havoc on an aircraft. Watch what a small quantity does to a bicycle and a scooter.



And the title question I'm still asking. If less than 3.4 ounces of gallium is going to chew through aircraft aluminum like it did the bike and scooter, are the TSA screeners looking for it?
 
AggieMike88 said:
Forget explosives to wreck havoc on an aircraft. Watch what a small quantity does to a bicycle and a scooter.



And the title question I'm still asking. If less than 3.4 ounces of gallium is going to chew through aircraft aluminum like it did the bike and scooter, are the TSA screeners looking for it?
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They have a hard time detecting anything other than their paychecks and bennies.
 
That's some nasty stuff
Pour some of that gallistine on your arch nemesis plane, the next time he goes IMC his plane will disintegrate.
 
Seriously, gallium placed in a critical area is easily the worst case type of sabotage. Whist it won't penetrate paint, coatings, or aluminum oxide, if it's sitting in an area where slight rubbing exists, and it gets the tiniest "foothold", it's all over. We turned a cube of aluminum into scrap overnight. It took less time, but we left it overnight.
Edit: apparently that guy in the video didn't study material sciences; he's got a cylinder full of a liquid that will keep a high vapor pressure, and it's cracked, and he's handling it. Yikes.
 
Now why would you want to go and give terrorists ideas like that. You do realize that the NSA is watching everything, don't you?
 
I don't know, he's pretty detectable.

gollum_angry-55cbd2a6271db.jpg
 
AggieMike88 said:
Forget explosives to wreck havoc on an aircraft. Watch what a small quantity does to a bicycle and a scooter.



And the title question I'm still asking. If less than 3.4 ounces of gallium is going to chew through aircraft aluminum like it did the bike and scooter, are the TSA screeners looking for it?
Click to expand...
That guy is not very bright
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Seriously, gallium placed in a critical area is easily the worst case type of sabotage. Whist it won't penetrate paint, coatings, or aluminum oxide, if it's sitting in an area where slight rubbing exists, and it gets the tiniest "foothold", it's all over. We turned a cube of aluminum into scrap overnight. It took less time, but we left it overnight.
Edit: apparently that guy in the video didn't study material sciences; he's got a cylinder full of a liquid that will keep a high vapor pressure, and it's cracked, and he's handling it. Yikes.
Click to expand...
Almost an episode of Jackass. What a maroon.
 
interesting how far the damage migrates from the point of contact with the Ga.

(ps, so glad I'm not his neighbor)
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Seriously, gallium placed in a critical area is easily the worst case type of sabotage. Whist it won't penetrate paint, coatings, or aluminum oxide, if it's sitting in an area where slight rubbing exists, and it gets the tiniest "foothold", it's all over. We turned a cube of aluminum into scrap overnight. It took less time, but we left it overnight.
Edit: apparently that guy in the video didn't study material sciences; he's got a cylinder full of a liquid that will keep a high vapor pressure, and it's cracked, and he's handling it. Yikes.
Click to expand...

Arguably worse that that, he's pouring it on his skin.

We know what happens when people handle mercury with their hands.
 
He did say they won’t let you take it on an airplane, so the TSA MUST be on the lookout for it. :rolleyes:

Edit...it’s a liquid, so it would be in a quart-sized ziplock bag. So easy to spot. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
MauleSkinner said:
He did say they won’t let you take it on an airplane, so the TSA MUST be on the lookout for it. :rolleyes:

Edit...it’s a liquid, so it would be in a quart-sized ziplock bag. So easy to spot. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
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Dude if you had it in your hand playing with it betcha you could even hand it to the TSA moron to hold for you while you went through the peep show radiation machine.
 
I've got an idea: let's think of a great way to sabotage an airplane that you could likely get through airport security, and post the whole thing on the internet, videos and all!

:eek:
 
mryan75 said:
I've got an idea: let's think of a great way to sabotage an airplane that you could likely get through airport security, and post the whole thing on the internet, videos and all!

:eek:
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You honestly think us keeping hush hush is what keeps the mouth breathing flying public “safe”?

Got some land for ya in Florida too :rofl:
 
Where the heck do you buy gallium in the first place?
 
James331 said:
You honestly think us keeping hush hush is what keeps the mouth breathing flying public “safe”?

Got some land for ya in Florida too :rofl:
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We all know that a gallon of gasoline and a match, is no match for the typical home.
 
mryan75 said:
I've got an idea: let's think of a great way to sabotage an airplane that you could likely get through airport security, and post the whole thing on the internet, videos and all!

:eek:
Click to expand...
That’s because some pros here do not fly airliners.
Not that they are incorrect per se, but rather they have no true skin in the game. They don’t really even understand the whole thing IMO.
Again, they may not be wrong, but it’s the callous attitude that shows ignorance.
I have seen a lot of stuff with 200+ passengers that a medic pilot will never see.
 
If you’re scrolling the posts too fast it reads “Can the TSA detect Giuliani?”
 
That's a really interesting chemical reaction. I also wonder how much aluminum is affected by how much gallium.

I was reading up on how an aluminum/gallium compound can generate hydrogen as a fuel cell. Mix aluminum and gallium, then add water. The aluminum reacts with the water to strip oxygen from the hydrogen atoms. Hydrogen is then free to be released as a gas, and that hydrogen can be used for power. The aluminum gets converted to aluminum oxide and the gallium is returned.

https://phys.org/news/2007-05-hydrogen-aluminum-alloy-fuel-cells.html
 
Kritchlow said:
That’s because some pros here do not fly airliners.
Not that they are incorrect per se, but rather they have no true skin in the game. They don’t really even understand the whole thing IMO.
Again, they may not be wrong, but it’s the callous attitude that shows ignorance.
I have seen a lot of stuff with 200+ passengers that a medic pilot will never see.
Click to expand...

Was that a shot across my bow

B7-D99898-EB66-4998-BEC7-FC4-BC6-C5-DCCD.gif


However you are correct
 
James331 said:
Was that a shot across my bow

B7-D99898-EB66-4998-BEC7-FC4-BC6-C5-DCCD.gif


However you are correct
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Sort of, but not really.
You do make many good points in many of your posts (but many I still disagree with), but I’m not sure you understand the full spectrum of aviation as a pro pilot.
I do know you are a pro and very knowledgeable in your field, but at times you seem to dismiss other areas (read airlines) of aviation. Not everything is the same across different spectrums of the same field. I can understand your area as I’ve flown part 135 for many years. However it seems at times you will not give credence to the 121 world when you have zero experience there.
To bring it back to topic, security is a factor.
I get that you don’t have to deal with that often so we see it differently.
 
MauleSkinner said:
He did say they won’t let you take it on an airplane, so the TSA MUST be on the lookout for it. :rolleyes:

Edit...it’s a liquid, so it would be in a quart-sized ziplock bag. So easy to spot. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
Click to expand...
It's only a liquid above about 86 F. Easily chilled and looks like a chunk of metal.
 
What about elemental sodium?
I buy it on amazon and that s#!t explodes when it comes in contact with water.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Arguably worse that that, he's pouring it on his skin.

We know what happens when people handle mercury with their hands
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If you are in a well ventilated area, have no skin defects, and correctly perform all cleanup for environmental protection, Mercury can be safely handled with bare hands. While it easily crosses the blood brain barrier, and vapor is absorbed through the lungs, it does not readily pass through the skin. Remember, hatters worked with liquid mercury for a career before they accumulated enough to have symptoms. The likely primary accumulation path was traces not washed off their hands that they later ingested with food.

And gallium isn’t a neurotoxin. Looking like mercury doesn’t convey any other mercury like properties.

My apologies if I missed some sarcasm there.

Handling the cracked CO2 bottle certainly could be a fatal mistake. The only possible mitigation to the risk is if the remaining liquid were chilled to the point where the vapor pressure was only atmospheric, (where it actually would have become dry ice instead) and I would want the valve open with low enough flow that I was certain pressure wasn’t building up. But around here, a vessel with CO2 liquid or solid at atmospheric pressure would be drawing condensate and frosting up. It would also likely be too cold to handle with bare hands. So yeah, as presented on video, it looks like he missed a big safety issue and got lucky.
 
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