What is Mercury ?

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A silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temperature and used in thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pesticides.

Mercury is sometimes called quicksilver. It is a rather poor conductor of heat if compared with other metals but it is a fair conductor of electricity.

It alloys easily with many metals, such as Gold, silver, and tin. These alloys are called amalgams. The largest natural source of mercury is cinnabar, which is a reddish mineral containing mercury and sulfur which has been used as a pigment, or dye, since ancient times.

Mercury was named after the Roman god "Mercurius", the messenger of Jupiter who was the god of commerce. The Latin word "Mercurius" is thought to have derived from the Latin 'merx' meaning merchandise.

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. It’s just a little bigger than Earth’s moon. It is the closest planet to the sun, but it’s actually not the hottest. ...

The symbol Hg is from the Greek words hydor and argyros, meaning "water-silver", because it is a liquid like water and has silvery metallic sheen.

Mercury Facts. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and is also the smallest of the eight planets in our solar system.

For every 2 orbits of the Sun, which takes around 88 Earth days, Mercury completes three rotations of its axis. It is gravitationally locked and this rotation is unique to the solar system.

Elements can be classified based on their physical states (States of Matter) e.g. gas, solid or liquid.

This small planet spins around slowly compared to Earth, so one day lasts a long time. Mercury takes 59 Earth days to make one full rotation.

Mercury can be used to make thermometers, barometers and other scientific instruments. Mercury conducts electricity and is used to make silent, position dependent switches.

As a general overview of the element we can at first describe Mercury as a liquid. It is a liquid at room temperature and one of the 20 least common elements.

Mercury is one of the rocky planets. It has a solid surface that is covered with craters.

It is a poisonous, metallic element. Mercury is occasionally found free in nature but usually occurs as the red sulfide ore, called cinnabar, or vermillion. The largest producer of mercury is the USA followed by Spain and Italy. The mercury mines of Spain have long been famous.

Mercury vapor is used in streetlights, fluorescent lamps and advertising signs.

A year on Mercury goes by fast. Because it’s the closest planet to the sun, it doesn’t take very long to go all the way around. It completes one revolution around the sun in just 88 Earth days

Mercury is extensively used in the construction of scientific instruments, such as the thermometer and barometer, and as a liquid over which to collect gases which are soluble in water.

Atomic Number: 80

Atomic Weight: 200.592

Melting Point: 234.32 K (-38.83°C or -37.89°F)

Boiling Point: 629.88 K (356.73°C or 674.11°F)

Density: 13.5336 grams per cubic centimeter

Phase at Room Temperature: Liquid

Element Classification: Metal

Period Number: 6 Group Number: 12

A day on Mercury is not like a day here on Earth. For us, the sun rises and sets each and every day...

The readiness with which it alloys with Silver and Gold makes it very useful in the extraction of these elements.

Named after the planet Mercury. Mercury's chemical symbol comes from the Greek word hydrargyrum, which means "liquid silver."

Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Hindus and has been found in 3500 year old Egyptian tombs.

Mercury only has one sunrise every 180 Earth days! Isn't that weird?

Mercury is not usually found free in nature and is primarily obtained from the mineral cinnabar (HgS). Spain and Italy produce about half of the world's supply of Mercury.