chargeloha.blogg.se - Mercury element

#Mercury element skin#
#Mercury element free#

Other applications for mercury include dental fillings, telescopes, cosmetics, and vaccines. A major application today is fluorescent lamps and mercury vapor lamps. Due to its high density and thermal expansion characteristics, it is used in measuring instruments such as thermometers and barometers. Mercury is used in a variety of applications, but is being phased out of some of them due to health issues. Today, the majority of mercury is mined in China and Kyrgyzstan. Spain mined mercury in order to use it in their mining process for silver in South America. Most mercury today is produced from the mining of cinnabar, a bright red ore.įor many years Spain and Italy were the largest producers of mercury.

#Mercury element free#

It is sometimes found in its free state, but is usually found in ores such as cinnabar, livingstonite, and corderoite. Mercury is a very rare element found in the Earth's crust. Iron is one of the few exceptions and, as a result, is often used to store mercury. When mercury comes into contact with other metals, it dissolves them and forms a new substance called an amalgam. Mercury is very poisonous and can be absorbed by humans through the air, skin, or by eating food with mercury. It will evaporate into the air at room temperature. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature. Under standard conditions mercury is a shiny, heavy, silvery liquid. Mercury atoms have 80 electrons and 80 protons with 122 neutrons in the most abundant isotope. Mercury is the third element in the twelfth column of the periodic table.

Discovered by: Known about since ancient times.

It is not present in amounts that could be dangerous in any of these products, of course. Other things that mercury can be found in today include dental fillings, cosmetic products, telescopes, and in other medical applications. Today, mercury can be found in certain types of lamps and lightbulbs, such as fluorescent lamps. Previously, because mercury is known to be extremely dense and responds to heat with expansion reactions, it used to be used in weather-measuring instrumentation (such as barometers and thermometers) for reporting temperature and other weather conditions. In modern times, the two countries that produce, mine, and distribute the most mercury are Kyrgyzstan and China.ĭue to the high danger associated with humans and other animals coming into contact with mercury, there are less and less things being used with mercury in recent years. Interestingly, the reason that the Spanish were mining mercury was to help with their silver mine production over in South America. One example of an ore commonly found with mercury is cinnabar, which appears red.įor a long time the two countries that produced, mined, and distributed the most mercury were Italy and Spain. It’s not commonly found in its pure form, and is most often found in ores, or other compounds. Mercury is particularly difficult and rare to find in the Earth’s outer crust layer. The exception to this rule is iron iron can be combined with mercury and still let both metals retain their shape.įor this reason, iron is often used in containers made to store mercury. Mercury is unable to make contact with the majority of other metals and still retain its form.Ī new substance, called an amalgam, is formed when mercury meets most other metals, after the mercury itself dissolves.

#Mercury element skin#

Mercury can make dangerous contact with humans through skin contact, through the air, or by eating food that contains traces of mercury. Mercury is known to be very poisonous to humans and other mammals, and can even be deadly if a person comes into too much contact with it. In its standard, most typical form, mercury is a shiny, silvery liquid that actually feels quite heavy. In fact, mercury is too hot at room temperature to retain its naturally liquid state, and is at risk of evaporating! Mercury is the only metal that is known to be liquid at room temperature. Thus, mercury at room temperature, much unlike the other transition metals, is actually a liquid. Its melting point is a shockingly low -38.83 degrees Celsius, and its boiling point is 356.7 degrees Celsius. At room temperature, mercury appears as a solid, shiny yellow metal. The chemical symbol for mercury is Hg, and its atomic weight is 200.59. The atomic number of mercury is 80, due to its possession of 80 protons, along with 80 electrons and 122 neutrons. Mercury is a transition metal, found on the third row of the twelfth column of the periodic table of elements.