Hacker News Reader

Comment by oakwhiz | Hacker News Reader

I'm concerned that the increased occurrence of gallium (in the liquid state) in consumer devices could represent a sort of warranty time bomb. It's not supposed to leak out, and there isn't much of it, but if it does, you have a serious problem. It's only as good as the seal around it, which could age depending on the type of seal.

View on HN

What exactly is the "serious problem" of it?

its liquid.. and its metal.

when it leaks onto another component it is guaranteed to bridge connections- probably leading to shorts.

Well, that's the immediate problem if it leaks in your laptop. But OP is probably referring to its ability to dissolve aluminium. Go watch a video on youtube, "gallium vs aluminium" or sth like that, it's quite scary.

It has an incredibly high surface tension and "sticks". It's actually quite hard to apply. I see no risk of leaking.

Not to mention that laptops are often used on aircraft, and aluminum airframes are extremely susceptible to gallium infiltration.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/173.162

(c) Manufactured articles or apparatuses, each containing not more than 100 mg (0.0035 ounce) of gallium and packaged so that the quantity of gallium per package does not exceed 1 g (0.35 ounce) are not subject to the requirements of this subchapter. For transportation by aircraft, such articles and apparatuses must be transported as cargo and may not be carried onboard an aircraft by passengers or crewmembers in carry-on baggage, checked baggage, or on their person unless specifically excepted by § 175.10.

I don't know how much gallium TIM they put in these laptops but I do wonder if there is a legal risk from carrying one onboard.

Well they almost certainly fall under the 100mg (that's about 150 mg of Galinalstan. The rule also requires it be carried as cargo. That is, no gallium in passenger aircraft. So technically it would be illegal.

However it's extremely improbable any amount of gallium would be able to escape the devices enclosure much less make it past the furnishings to the actual aircraft structure. Much less an amount likely to cause problems.

My advice is to not mention it.

Are you seriously implying that the gallium inside a laptop, sandwiched between the CPU and heatsink, is going to not only leak out of the laptop (most likely rendering the laptop nonfunctional in the process), but also manage to find its way to the airframe, in quantities sufficient to cause meaningful damage?

I’ve really got no point of reference for metallurgical risks.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com