Mercury2

Mercury By. Joanna Fujiwara-Morozumi, Zane Anderson, and Claire Lin


 * Classification:** Mercury is a chemical element.


 * Symbol:** Mercury's atomic symbol is Hg


 * Freezing point:** Mercury's freezing point is


 * Atomic Number:**80


 * Atomic weight:**200.59


 * Melting point:**234.32 K (-38.83°C or -37.89°F)


 * Phase at room temperature:** Liquid

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum (from "hydr-" water and "argyros" silver). A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metal that is liquid at standard conditions for temperature and pressure; the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is bromine, and metals such as caesium, francium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature. With a freezing point of −38.83 °C and boiling point of 356.73 °C, mercury has one of the narrowest ranges of its liquid state of any metal. Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is mostly obtained by reduction from cinnabar. Cinnabar is highly toxic by ingestion or inhalation of the dust. Mercury poisoning can also result from exposure to water-soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methyl mercury), inhalation of mercury vapor, or eating seafood contaminated with mercury.Mercury is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers,float valves, some electrical switches, and other scientific apparatus, though concerns about the element's toxicity have led to mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers being largely phased out in clinical environments in favor of alcohol-filled, galinstan filled, digital, or thermistor-based instruments. It remains in use in scientific research applications and in amalgam material for dental restoration. It is used in lighting: electricity passed through mercury vapor in a phosphor tube produces short-wave ultraviolet light which then causes the phosphor to fluoresce, making visible light.