Element Mercury - Hg

Comprehensive data on the chemical element Mercury is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Mercury. Common chemical compounds are also provided for many elements. In addition technical terms are linked to their definitions and the menu contains links to related articles that are a great aid in one's studies.

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Overview of Mercury

Mercury's Name in Other Languages

Latin: Hydrargyrum

Hydrargyrum Czech: Rtut´

Rtut´ Croatian: Živa

Živa French: Mercure

Mercure German: Quecksilber - e

Quecksilber - e Italian: Mercurio

Mercurio Norwegian: Kvikksølv

Kvikksølv Portuguese: Mercúrio

Mercúrio Russian: Ргуть

Ргуть Spanish: Mercurio

Mercurio Swedish: Kvicksilver

Atomic Structure of Mercury

Chemical Properties of Mercury

Physical Properties of Mercury

Regulatory / Health

Who / Where / When / How

Discoverer: Known to ancient civilization

Known to ancient civilization Discovery Location: Unknown

Unknown Discovery Year: Unknown

Unknown Name Origin: From the Greek god Mercury who was the messenger to the gods and was known for his speed; Hg from mercury's Latin name Hydrargyrum, which comes from the Greek word "hydrargyros" ("hydor" for water and "argyros" for silver).

Abundance of Mercury: Earth's Crust /p.p.m.: 0.05 Seawater /p.p.m.: Atlantic Suface: 4.9E-07 Atlantic Deep: 4.9E-07 Pacific Surface: 3.3E-07 Pacific Deep: 3.3E-07 Atmosphere /p.p.m.: N/A Sun (Relative to H=1E 12 ): 125

Sources of Mercury: Most mercury comes from cinnabar ore. Annual world production is around 8,400 tons. Primary mining areas are Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia.

Uses of Mercury: Used in thermometers, barometers, fluorescent lamps and batteries.

Additional Notes: Causes neurological and kidney damage and blindness. Also associated with birth defects. Very damaging to aquatic life. It is found in paint, batteries, thermometers, electrical equipment, fluorescent lights and plastics. Also used in gold mining industry. Batteries account for 88% of the mercury content in municipal solid waste.

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References

A list of reference sources used to compile the data provided on our periodic table of elements can be found on the main periodic table page.

Related Resources

Anatomy of the Atom

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Molarity, Molality and Normality

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Molar Mass Calculations and Javascript Calculator

Molar mass calculations are explained and there is a JavaScript calculator to aid calculations.

Chemical Database

This database focuses on the most common chemical compounds used in the home and industry.

Citing this page

If you need to cite this page, you can copy this text:

Kenneth Barbalace. Periodic Table of Elements - Mercury - Hg. EnvironmentalChemistry.com. 1995 - 2020. Accessed on-line: 9/30/2020

https://EnvironmentalChemistry.com/yogi/periodic/Hg.html

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