Mercury :: essays research papers

hectogramMercury&8217s type is Hg, its atomic number is 80, its atomic mass is 200.59, its in separate 12 and in period 6, and it also has two valence electrons. Its warning state is tranquil at 298K and it is the heaviest known elemental liquid. It has a silverny white color. It is named after the planet "Mercury" the origin of the symbol Hg is the Latin word "hydrargyrum" meaning "liquid silver". Mercury was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 B.C. and was frame in tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 B.C. Mercury is the only metal liquid at ordinary temperatures. Mercury is sometimes called quicksilver. It sometimes occurs free in nature and is found mainly in cinnabar ore which is HgS. Cinnabar ore is found in Spain and Italy. Mercury is a heavy, silvery-white metal which forms alloys easily with many metals exchangeable favourable, silver, and tin. These alloys be called amalgams. Its way of amalgamating with gold is made use of the recovery of gold from its ores. Mercury is a bad conductor of heat and a O.K. conductor of electricity. The most important salts are mercuric chloride HgC12 which is a blistering and violent poison. Mercurous chloride Hg2Cl2 which used to be used in medicine. Mercury fulminate Hg(ONC)2 used as a detonator in explosives and mercuric sulfide HgS used as a high-grade paint pigment. extreme atomic number 80 compounds are important and dangerous. Methyl mercury is a deadly pollutant found in rivers and lakes. Mercury is a virulent poison and is readily absorbed through the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, or through unremitting skin. It acts as a cumulative poison since there are a few(prenominal) pathways available to the body for its excretion. Since mercury is a very readily vapourous element at a relatively low temperature, dangerous levels are readily attained in air. Air saturated with mercury drying up at 20C contains a concentration that exceeds the toxic designate many times. The danger increases at higher temperatures. It is therefore important that mercury be handled with care.