Gallium, a silvery metal, is a material loved by practical jokers. For example, people would mould it to make a teaspoon, but when used to stir a cup of tea the spoon would disappear into the drink, as if being ‘eaten’ by the tea (of course it would not be sensible to drink the tea). This is due to its remarkably low melting point of 29.76°C (Chemistry Review Vol. 30, No. 3, p. 34).
Gallium has a boiling point of over 2200°C, giving it one of the largest temperature ranges between its melting and boiling points of all the elements. With such a wide liquid temperature range, gallium is used to make thermometers. It is also used in electronic circuits and LEDs (light-emitting diodes, Chemistry Review Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 8–11).
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