The Element Mercury


Mercury is a common metal which is liquid at room temperature. It is sometimes referred to as quick silver and rarely occurs in free nature. While mercury rarely occurs in nature it is found mainly in cinnabar ore from Spain and Italy. Mercury is a poor conductor of heat and is a fair conductor of electricity. It alloys easily with gold, silver and tin giving adding many industrial value.

Industrially mercury is used in many applications such as Mercury sphygmomanometers; Mercury barometers, diffusion pumps, coulometers, and many other laboratory instruments; In some gaseous electron tubes, including ignitrons, thyratrons, and mercury arc rectifiers and in liquid mercury as a coolant for nuclear reactors.

Atomic Number & Chemical Properties


Element Basics:

Chemical Symbol: Hg
Atomic Number: 80
Atomic Weight: 200.59
Element Classification: Transition Metal
Discovered By: Known to the ancients.
Date of Discovery: n/a (Unknown)
Origin of Name: The Roman god Mercury; symbol from Latin: hydrargyrus (liquid silver).

How to Recognize it at a Party:

Heavy, silver-white metal that is in its liquid state at

Seriously Atomic Information:

Density (g/cc): 13.546 (@ +20°C)
Melting Point (°K): 234.28
Boiling Point (°K): 629.73
Atomic Radius (pm): 157
Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 14.8
Covalent Radius (pm): 149
Ionic Radius: 110 (+2e) 127 (+1e)
Pauling Negativity Number: 2.00
First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 1006.0
Oxidation States: 2, 1
Electronic Configuration: [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2

Getting Intimate with Mercury:

Lattice Structure: Rhombohedral (RHL)
Lattice Constant (Å): 2.990
Lattice C/A Ratio: n/a
Specific Heat (@20°C J/g mol): 0.138
Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 2.295
Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 58.5
Thermal Conductivity (@25°C W/m K):
Debye Temperature (°K): 100.00


Society's Questions About Mercury:

Have you ever wondered what everyone else in the world thinks about Mercury? Is anyone else looking for it too? If so, why? What do they want?

The following list shows the most common online questions about the element Mercury. Are your questions the same or different from everyone else's?

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