![mercury metal mercury metal](https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/kz-Z8_4-cDXiPox12q-nq9ZRBac=/1660x1530/filters:fill(auto,1)/liquidmercury-56a12c243df78cf772681ba6.jpg)
Mercury fumes radiate ultraviolet light if an electric current is passed through them. The fact that it is opaque and has a characteristic shine makes it convenient to see where the “column” of mercury in the thermometer is located.Īdditionally, mercury fumes are used in some luminescent lamps. Mercury expands evenly on heating in a rather wide range of temperatures, and as it expands and rises up the glass capillary, it is easy to judge a change in temperature. It can still be found in mercury thermometers, which are becoming a thing of the past. Owing to its toxicity, the use of mercury today has been severely restricted. This process repeats again and again, and the drop throbs like a beating heart. The drop once more spreads out, touches iron, and then contracts. When the drop “contracts”, contact with iron is broken, and the oxidation process of the mercury starts again. If the surface of a drop of mercury is touched with an iron wire or nail, mercury sulfate is reduced to metallic mercury, the film is broken, the surface tension increases, and the drop “contracts”. As a result the drop of mercury spreads out a little. In this oxidizing medium, on the surface of the drop of mercury the film of its sulfate forms, reducing the surface tension that gives the drop its form. Metallic mercury has a solution of sulfuric acid poured over it, and potassium dichromate is added.
![mercury metal mercury metal](https://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2018/7/9/0/FOD18_Minhnuyet-Hardy_Sugarloaf_004.jpg)
One famous experiment with mercury is the mercury heart. For example, if a copper coin is immersed in a solution of mercury nitrate, metallic mercury settles on the surface of the coin: Mercury is less reactive than copper, so copper forces mercury out of its salts. If mercury is placed in nitric acid, mercury nitrate Hg(NO₃)₂ forms: Mercury does not react with the majority of acids, but dissolves in concentrated sulfuric acid, in nitric acid and in aqua regia. The chemical symbol Hg comes from the Greek word “ὑδράργυρος” (“hydrargyros”), which literally means “water-silver”, as mercury is liquid like water, and shiny like silver. The metal takes its name from the Roman God, the patron of traders and travelers, who is also responsible for communication and luck. They thought that mercury could turn ordinary metals into gold. The Ancient Egyptians and inhabitants of Mesoamerica may have used mercury to make a prototype of the rivers of the afterworld.Īlchemists believed that mercury was the “primary material”, the “substrate” – the foundation of everything in existence. Metallic mercury was found in the tombs of Ancient Egypt, dated 1,600 BCE and the pyramids of Teotihuacan. The Ancient Greeks used mercury sulfide in ointments, and Ancient Egyptians and Romans used it to make cosmetics. Cinnabar was used by humans in the Paleolithic era, 30,000 years ago. It was ascribed both mystical and healing properties. Humanity has known about this metal for a very long time. The most abundant of them are cinnabar (mercury sulfide HgS) and corderoit (Hg₃S₂Cl₂). This is because mercury mixes poorly with elements that make up most of the earth’s crust, and so “accumulations” of minerals containing mercury are formed. In the earth’s crust, mercury is a very rare element, but rocks in which mercury is found usually contain it in rather high concentrations. One of the most well-known features of mercury is that in normal conditions this metal is liquid and only freezes at –38.8☌! In nature there are only two elements that are liquid in normal conditions – mercury and bromine. Mercury is a heavy, silvery and very toxic metal.