Red Mercury: Real or Hoax?

Red Mercury is considered a non-existent material and is an artificial myth that was introduced in the 1980s, although it is still a vague opaque substance and its composition is uncertain, many believe of its existence and usability. It is famous for the widespread claims that it is used in the manufacture of many advanced weapons.

Mercury is a mineral element in nature, a silver colored element, when other chemical compounds are added to it, produces a group of mercury compounds, such as mercury oxide.

It is known that mercury oxidation becomes a color other than the known natural color, it turns red, and the substance becomes extremely toxic, harmful to the human body. When red mercury is placed on a heat source, the smoke rises in blue form, which was used by charlatans, magicians and sorcerers to influence their audiences. Red mercury is not mercury oxide. The only similarity is the reddish color.

In the Eighties Red Mercury came to existence through a fake leak of russian military documents, and quickly turned into the scam of the century. Russian mafia started marketing a red powdered material which was nothing but some compounds mixed with red food coloring to countries or groups interested in obtaining this supposedly radioactive material necessary for the manufacturing of nuclear bombs and advanced weaponry. Many fell victim to this hoax and a pound of this useless powder was sold as high as one million dollars.

The Russian mafia was very creative in marketing these compounds, by putting them in containers marked with the radioactive symbol or containers that seem to resemble military products.