Aluminum Pain in the Choppers!

Double dog dare you to bite down on a big honking ball of aluminum! No? Well, sniveling maggot, here's all that will happen...

• pressure from biting brings two dissimilar metals (aluminum foil, mercury in fillings or gold in crowns) in contact in a moist, salty environment (saliva)
  
• the two metals have an electrochemical potential difference or voltage across them
  
• electrons flow from the foil into the tooth (i.e. electrical current)
  
• the current gets conducted into the tooth's root, usually by the filling or crown
  
• the current sets off a nerve impulse in the root's nerve
  
• the nerve impulse is sent to the brain
  
• the brain interprets the impulse as pain
  

Want to know more?  Check it out here...   http://science.howstuffworks.com/question564.htm

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