Mercury
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| General Properties | |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 80 |
| Atomic mass | 200.592amu |
| Atomic radius | 171pm |
| Electron Configuration | [Xe] 4f14 5d2 6s2 |
| Density | 13.534g/cm3 |
| Melting point | -38.83°C |
| Boiling point | 356°C |
| First discovered/ developed | Ancient |
| Most common compound on Earth | HgS (Cinnabar ore) |
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Description and uses
Mercury (also known as quicksilver) is the 80th element of the periodic table, and has the lowest melting point of all metals, at around -38°C. It has been used
for thousands of years to collect gold, by dissolving it in the mercury, then evaporating the mercury away to leave pure gold. Its original Greek name was Hydragyros or 'water-silver', hence its symbol Hg. Its modern name refers to the Roman god Mercury and the planet Mercury named after the god.
Mercury has very few uses as it is highly toxic, although it has seen many uses in the past, such as in thermometers, to extract precious metals such as
gold, and in dental fillings.
Mercury easily forms alloys with many metals. These alloys are commonly known as amalgams, and they are often quite brittle and have a low melting point. An
example of a mercury amalgam is mercury-aluminium amalgam. This alloy causes the aluminium to become very brittle and allows it to quickly corrode. This is why
mercury is not allowed on planes, as it could damage the aircraft.
Mercury has 7 naturally occurring isotopes of mercury with atomic weights ranging from 196 to 204. The most abundant one is 202Hg, taking up around
30% of all mercury atoms. Both 196Hg and 198Hg could be used to make 197Au (the only stable gold isotope), although both the
process of extracting the isotope and changing it to gold would be more expensive than it is worth.