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Mercury is a heavy, silvery-white metal that is liquid at room temperature. Compared to other metals, it is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity.
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mercury (Hg), chemical element, liquid metal of Group 12 (IIb, or zinc group) of the periodic table.
Mercury was known in Egypt and also probably in the East as early as 1500 bce. The name mercury originated in 6th-century alchemy, in which the symbol of the planet was used to represent the metal; the chemical symbol Hg derives from the Latin hydrargyrum, “liquid silver.” Although its toxicity was recognized at an early date, its main application was for medical purposes.
Mercury is the only elemental metal that is liquid at room temperature. (Cesium melts at about 28.5 °C [83 °F], gallium at about 30 °C [86 °F], and rubidium at about 39 °C [102 °F].) Mercury is silvery white, slowly tarnishes in moist air, and freezes into a soft solid like tin or lead at −38.83 °C (−37.89 °F). It boils at 356.62 °C (673.91 °F).
It alloys with copper, tin, and zinc to form amalgams, or liquid alloys. An amalgam with silver is used as a filling in dentistry. Mercury does not wet glass or cling to it, and this property, coupled with its rapid and uniform volume expansion throughout its liquid range, made it useful in thermometers. (Mercury thermometers were supplanted by more accurate electronic digital thermometers in the early 21st century.) Barometers and manometers also used its high density and low vapour pressure. However, mercury’s toxicity has led to its replacement in these instruments. Gold and silver dissolve readily in mercury, and in the past this property was used in the extraction of these metals from their ores.
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The good electrical conductivity of mercury makes it exceptionally useful in sealed electrical switches and relays. An electrical discharge through mercury vapour contained in a fused silica tube or bulb produces a bluish glow rich in ultraviolet light, a phenomenon exploited in ultraviolet, fluorescent, and high-pressure mercury-vapour lamps. Some mercury is used in the preparation of pharmaceuticals and agricultural and industrial fungicides.
Mercury is a liquid metal of Group 12 of the periodic table, with various applications in medicine, industry, and science. Learn about its history, occurrence, toxicity, isotopes, and more from Britannica.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mercury is a chemical element and the only common metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures. It has many applications in thermometers, switches, lamps, batteries and medicine, but also poses environmental and health hazards.
- 200.59 g.mol -1
- The Ancients
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- Hg
- Mercury is a very harmful or poisonous material to which people can be exposed in a variety of ways. If swallowed, like from a broken thermometer,...
- In nature, mercury is rarely present as a pure, liquid metal, but rather in compounds and inorganic salts. Mercury is extracted as mercury (cinnaba...
- Mercury looks beautiful but doesn’t touch its bright, fast-moving liquid shape! It can be highly harmful to humans. The symbol Hg known for mercury...
- Mercury can be used to produce thermometers, barometers, and other scientific tools. Mercury conducts electricity, and is used to make switches dep...
- We have no idea who invented it. The ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Hindus understood Mercury, and it was discovered in Egyptian tombs dating back...
- Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
- Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at standard temperature and pressure. The only other liquid element under standard conditions is bromine (a halogen), although the metals rubidium, cesium, and gallium melt at a temperature just above room temperature.
- Although mercury and all its compounds are known to be highly toxic, it was considered therapeutic throughout much of history.
- The modern element symbol for mercury is Hg, which is the symbol for another name for mercury: hydrargyrum. Hydrargyrum comes from Greek words for "water-silver" (hydr- means water, argyros means silver).
- Mercury is a very rare element in the Earth's crust. It accounts for only about 0.08 parts per million (ppm) and is mainly found in the mineral cinnabar, which is mercuric sulfide.
Mercury has fascinated people for millennia, as a heavy liquid metal. However, because of its toxicity, many uses of mercury are being phased out or are under review. It is now mainly used in the chemical industry as catalysts.
Jul 30, 2020 · Learn about the properties, history, uses, and health effects of mercury, the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature. Find out how mercury got its name, how it forms amalgams, and how it reacts with other elements.
Jul 3, 2019 · Learn about the chemical and physical properties, history, and uses of mercury, the only metallic element that is liquid at room temperature. Find out how mercury is extracted, amalgamated, and poisonous to humans and the environment.
