Mercury Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements

Mercury is the only metallic element that is a liquid at room temperature. This dense metal is atomic number 80 with element symbol Hg. This collection of mercury facts includes atomic data, the electron configuration, chemical and physical properties, and history of the element. Mercury Basic Facts Symbol: HgAtomic Number: 80Atomic Weight: 200.59Element Classification: Transition MetalCAS Number: 7439-97-6Mercury Periodic Table LocationGroup: 12Period: 6Block: d Mercury Electron Configuration Short Form: [Xe]4f145d106s2Long Form: 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p64f145d106s2Shell Structure: 2 8 18 32 18 2 Mercury Discovery Discovery Date: Known to the ancient Hindus and Chinese. Mercury has been found in Egyptian tombs dating to 1500 B.C.Name: Mercury derives its name from the association between the planet Mercury and its use in alchemy. The alchemical symbol for mercury was the same for the metal and the planet. The element symbol, Hg, is derived from the Latin name hydragyrum meaning water silver. Mercury Physical Data State at room temperature (300 K): LiquidAppearance: heavy silvery white metalDensity: 13.546 g/cc (20  °C)Melting Point: 234.32 K (-38.83  °C or -37.894  °F)Boiling Point: 356.62 K (356.62  °C or 629.77  °F)Critical Point: 1750 K at 172 MPaHeat of Fusion: 2.29 kJ/molHeat of Vaporization: 59.11 kJ/molMolar Heat Capacity: 27.983 J/mol ·KSpecific Heat: 0.138 J/g ·K (at 20  °C) Mercury Atomic Data Oxidation States: 2 , 1Electronegativity: 2.00Electron Affinity: not stableAtomic Radius: 1.32 Ã…Atomic Volume: 14.8 cc/molIonic Radius: 1.10 Ã… (2e) 1.27 Ã… (1e)Covalent Radius: 1.32 Ã…Van der Waals Radius: 1.55 Ã…First Ionization Energy: 1007.065 kJ/molSecond Ionization Energy: 1809.755 kJ/molThird Ionization Energy: 3299.796 kJ/mol Mercury Nuclear Data Number of isotopes: There are 7 naturally occurring isotopes of mercury..Isotopes and % abundance: 196Hg (0.15), 198Hg (9.97), 199Hg (198.968), 200Hg (23.1), 201Hg (13.18), 202Hg (29.86) and 204Hg (6.87) Mercury Crystal Data Lattice Structure: RhombohedralLattice Constant: 2.990 Ã…Debye Temperature: 100.00 K Mercury Uses Mercury is amalgamated with gold to facilitate the recovery of gold from its ores. Mercury is used to make thermometers, diffusion pumps, barometers, mercury vapor lamps, mercury switches, pesticides, batteries, dental preparations, antifouling paints, pigments, and catalysts. Many of the salts and organic mercury compounds are important. Miscellaneous Mercury Facts Mercury compounds with the 2 oxidation states are known as mercuric in older texts. Example: HgCl2 was known as mercuric chloride.Mercury compounds with the 1 oxidation state are known as mercurous in older texts. Example: Hg2Cl2 was known as mercurous chloride.Mercury is rarely found free in nature. Mercury is harvested from cinnabar (mercury(I) sulfide - HgS). It is extracted by heating the ore and collecting the mercury vapor produced.Mercury is also known by the name quicksilver.Mercury is one of the few elements that is liquid at ordinary room temperatures.Mercury and its compounds are highly poisonous. Mercury is readily absorbed across unbroken skin or though the respiratory or gatroinstestinal tract. It acts as a cumulative poison.Mercury is very volatile in air. When room temperature air (20 °C) is saturated with mercury vapor, the concentration greatly exceeds the toxic limit. The concentration, and thus the danger, increases at higher temperatures.Early alchemists believ ed all metals contained varying amounts of mercury. Mercury was used in many experiments to transmute one metal into another.Chinese alchemists believed mercury promoted health and extended life and included it with several medicines.Mercury readily forms alloys with other metals, called amalgams. The term amalgam literally means alloy of mercury in Latin.An electrical discharge will cause mercury to combine with the noble gases argon, krypton, neon, and xenon.Mercury is one of the heavy metals. Many metals have a higher density than mercury, yet are not considered to be heavy metals. This is because heavy metals are both extremely dense and highly toxic. Sources Eisler, R. (2006). Mercury hazards to living organisms. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-9212-2.Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-08-037941-9.Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.Norrby, L.J. (1991). Why is mercury liquid? Or, why do relativistic effects not get into chemistry textbooks?. Journal of Chemical Education. 68 (2): 110. doi:10.1021/ed068p110Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4. Return to the Periodic Table