Science, Tech, Math › Science Mercury Fulminate - Breaking Bad Share Flipboard Email Print Getty Images / Kris Connor Science Chemistry Chemistry In Everyday Life Basics Chemical Laws Molecules Periodic Table Projects & Experiments Scientific Method Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Medical Chemistry Famous Chemists Activities for Kids Abbreviations & Acronyms Biology Physics Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Facebook Twitter Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on July 03, 2019 Episode 6 of AMC's 'Breaking Bad' has a scene where our hero, Walt, passes a plastic bag of mercury fulminate off as crystal meth. Why mercury fulminate? I guess there aren't many easy-to-make explosives that look like crystal meth. The thing is... I don't think fulminate of mercury looks like it was portrayed in the tv show.Mercury fulminate [or fulminate of mercury, Hg(ONC)2] was first prepared in 1800 by Edward Charles Howard. It is an explosive that mainly was used in favor of flints to ignite black powder in a firearm. It's pretty easy to make... the synthesis involves dissolving mercury in nitric acid and adding ethanol to the solution. However, you end up precipitating a white to grayish-brown powder (depending on purity) like what you see in this photo and not big chunks of glassy crystals, as seen in 'Breaking Bad'.Although mercury fulminate is easy to prepare, you don't want to try it. The explosive is highly sensitive to just about everything... shock, sparks, flame, friction, and heat. I don't think Walt could have been so casual handling a bag of it without having a little accident. If you don't blow yourself up with the compound, you could gas yourself with fumes from the synthesis (reaction should be done outdoors or inside a fume hood). Then there is the product... mercury compounds are toxic. The mercury doesn't magically disappear when the compound explodes.The episode got me wondering. If you were in charge of props for a tv show and were asked to come up with 'crystal meth', what would you use? I'm going to guess using the illegal drug would not be an option. I am betting they used rock candy. What do you think?Breaking Bad - Elements in the Body | Breaking Bad - Hydrofluoric AcidPhoto: Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Mercury Fulminate - Breaking Bad." ThoughtCo, Sep. 30, 2021, thoughtco.com/mercury-fulminate-breaking-bad-3976050. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2021, September 30). Mercury Fulminate - Breaking Bad. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/mercury-fulminate-breaking-bad-3976050 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Mercury Fulminate - Breaking Bad." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/mercury-fulminate-breaking-bad-3976050 (accessed March 20, 2023). copy citation