Mercury Hg

The chemical symbol, Hg, comes from the Latin word "hydragyrum" which means liquid silver, it being the most common liquid metal at room temperature. As a liquid, the metal is extremely mobile and dense and as a solid, it is ductile and malleable. It is a readily accessible element as it occurs in concentrated ores, mercury (II) oxide being decomposed by heating alone at around 500°C, at which temperature mercury distils out. The element and many of its compounds are extremely toxic and, as mercury has a relatively high vapour pressure at room temperature, mercury surfaces should always be kept covered to reduce vapourisation. The use of mercury and its compounds has been reduced due to its toxicity. However, as it acts a "solvent" with most metals where it forms amalgams, it has some use in the field of dental amalgams. It is also used in mercury vapour lamps and many scientific and electrical instruments. One application with which many people will be familiar is the mercury barometer, an instrument used for measuring the pressure of the atmosphere in terms of the height of a column of mercury which exerts an equal pressure. In Latin mercury is argentum vivum, literally "living silver".

Symbol

Hg

Discovered

Known to ancient civilisations.

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Atomic number	80		Clip
Atomic / Molecular Weight	200.59	gmol-1	Clip
Density	13546	kgm-3	Clip
Lattice constant	300	fm	Clip
Melting Point	234.324	K	Clip
Boiling Point	629.82	K	Clip
Specific heat capacity	138	Jkg-1K-1	Clip
Latent heat of evaporation	290000	Jkg-1	Clip
Latent heat of fusion	11700	Jkg-1	Clip
Thermal conductivity	7.96	Wm-1K-1	Clip
Refractive index	1.73	at 589.3nm 101.3kPa 0°C	Clip
Acoustic wave velocity (Irrotational waves)	1452	ms-1	Clip
Velocity of sound	1450	ms-1	Clip
Bulk Modulus of Rigidity	26200000000	Nm-2	Clip
Surface Tension	0.472	Nm-1	Clip
Viscosity	0.001552	Nsm-2	Clip
Kinematic Viscosity	1.14572567547616E-07	m2s-1	Clip
de Broglie wavelength	0.000000000011	m	Clip
Electromotive Series	-0.85	V	Clip

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See also: Amalgam, Mercury I Chloride, Mercury II Chloride, Mercury II Oxide, Periodic Table, Pressure.