Periodic Table
|
Mercury
| Symbol |
Hg |
| Atomic Number |
80 |
Relative Atomic Mass
12C = 12.0000 |
200.59 |
| Atomic Radius pm |
160 |
First Ionisation Energy
kJ mol -1 |
1007.0 |
| Electronegativity |
2.00 |
Density
kg m -3 |
13546 [293 K] |
| Molar Volume cm 3
|
14.81 |
Thermal Conductivity
W m -1 K -1 |
8.34 [300 K] |
| Melting Point K |
234.28 |
| Boiling Point K |
629.73 |
| Number of Isotopes |
37 |
| Inner + outer Shells |
|
| Inner + outer Orbitals |
|
| Filling Orbital |
|
Ground State Electron
Configuration |
|
| |
Ground State Electron
Configuration with
free Orbitals (n=6)
|
 |
| |
|
Ground State Electron Configuration
with compressed Orbitals (n=96)
|
 |
| |
| Singularity |
|
| |
|
|
s
|
p
|
d
|
f
|
g
|
h
|
i
|
j
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
2
|
6
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
2
|
6
|
10
|
14
|
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
10
|
14
|
18
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
2
|
6
|
10
|
14
|
18
|
22
|
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Term Symbol |
1S 0
|
| Discovery |
Known to ancients
Mercury was known in Egypt and also probably in the East as early as 1500 BC. |
| Name Derived From |
Named after the planet Mercury; Latin
hydrargyrum meaning 'liquid silver´. |
The name mercury originated in 6th-century
alchemy, in which the symbol of the planet was used to
represent the metal; the chemical symbol Hg derives from the
Latin hydrargyrum, "liquid silver." Although its
toxicity was recognized at an early date, its main application
was for medical purposes.
The chief commercial source of mercury is cinnabar, or mercury
sulfide, which is mined in shaft or open-pit operations and
refined by flotation. Over half the world supply of mercury
comes from Spain and Italy. Most of the methods of extraction
of mercury rely on the volatility of the metal and the fact
that cinnabar is readily decomposed by air or by lime to yield
the free metal. Because of the toxicity of mercury and the
threat of rigid pollution control, attention is being directed
toward safer methods of extracting mercury. These generally
rely on the fact that cinnabar is readily soluble in solutions
of sodium hypochlorite or sulfide, from which the mercury can
be recovered by precipitation with zinc or aluminum or by
electrolysis.
|
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