"Jim Wilkins" fired this volley in news:mp8c7k$7p3
:

We student chemists were taught that the sulfur reacts with any
exposed metallic surfaces and thus blocks evaporation. It made the
room safe to use until the flooring had to be removed for some other
reason.

The fallacies in that a
1) Even if the surface of a mercury droplet were "sulfided", the liquid
within would still be subject to being broken up again by foot or
furniture traffic, and
2) Even noble metals? Really? G


The purpose of combining mercury with sulfur is to 'sequester' all of the
liquid, rendering the black sulfide. That won't happen without both
breaking the mercury up into _truly_ microscopic droplets (surface area
affect reaction rate, remember?), and mascerating the mix long enough to
cause the reaction to complete.

Lloyd