Mercury

Mercury

• The other name of Mercury is quicksilver or hydrargyrum (meaning watery silver)
• Mercury's symbol is Hg
• Atomic number is 80. It has 80 Protons and 80 Electrons. It's Atomic mass is 201. Therefore, the Number of Neutrons is 121.
• Heavy, silvery d-block metal
• One of six chemical elements that are liquid at or near room temperature and pressure.
• The only metal that is liquid at standard conditions for termperature and pressure with a melting point of −38.83 °C and boiling point of 356.73 °C, mercury has one of the narrowest ranges of its liquid state of any metal.
• Mercury poisoning can occur by inhalation of mercury vapor, or eating fish contaminated with mercury.
• Used in thermometers, barometers, manometers and other scientific apparatus, It remains in use in a number of other ways in scientific and scientific research applications, and in amalgam material for dental restoration. It is used in lighting; electricity passed through mercury vapor in a phosphor tube produces short-wave ultraviolet light which then causes the phosphor to fluoresce making visible light.

Element's Compounds and Mixture's

I think ultimately all fields include classification. However, it is fascinating that everything whatever the shape , color, smell is :) all matter can be classified according to it's composition. Everything ~ !!! :) Actually, I recollected what my father always says. ' What you are made of never changes. ' (It's my father's way to say what kind of person that person is never changes. ) Although the phases the matter is in the ultimate composition doesn't change. For example, water, ice is totally different but they are all H2O. So this classification is an efficient and smart way to define things.

Natural Resources Defense council's List of levels of Mercury Fish

LEAST MERCURY
Enjoy these fish:
Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/CrayfishCroaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
PlaicePollockSalmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting


MODERATE MERCURY - Eat six servings or less per month :
Bass (Striped, Black)
CarpCod (Alaskan)*
Croaker (White Pacific)
Halibut (Atlantic)*
Halibut (Pacific)
Jacksmelt(Silverside)
Lobster
Mahi Mahi
Monkfish*
Perch (Freshwater)
Sablefish
Skate*
Snapper*
Tuna (Cannedchunk light)
Tuna (Skipjack)*
Weakfish (Sea Trout)


HIGH MERCURY - Eat three servings or less per month :
Bluefish
Grouper*
Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
Sea Bass (Chilean)*
Tuna (Canned Albacore)
Tuna (Yellowfin)*


HIGHEST MERCURY - Avoid eating :
Mackerel (King) Marlin*
Orange Roughy*
Shark*
Swordfish*
Tilefish*
Tuna(Bigeye, Ahi)*

Mercury

Mercury is my " Element of the week " and now this element is being a big issue. Below is an article of a research done from Chicago Tribune and Rutgers University about Mercury found in fish.

The next time you start to order a tuna sandwich for lunch or a swordfish steak as your dinner entrée, give some thought to a research study by the Chicago Tribune and Rutgers University, which shows that commercial seafood contains much higher levels of mercury than most people suspect.
The Health Risks of Mercury in SeafoodMercury is a highly toxic heavy metal that can damage the central nervous system of children and unborn fetuses, slowing development of walking and talking and decreasing memory and attention span. Adults may experience headaches, fatigue, lack of concentration, and numbness in their hands and feet. According to the newspaper, some studies suggest that men may face an increased risk of heart attack.
The investigation by the Tribune also found that government regulators and the seafood industry are doing little to protect public health and, in fact, have been placing consumers at risk for decades by “knowingly allowing millions of Americans to eat seafood with unsafe levels of mercury.”
Government Downplays Dangers of Mercury in SeafoodThrough extensive interviews and a review of government records, the newspaper discovered that “regulators have repeatedly downplayed the hazards, failed to take basic steps to protect public health and misled consumers about the true dangers” of eating seafood containing mercury.
According to the Tribune the government does not confiscate fish that exceed U.S. mercury limits, and regulators don’t regularly inspect seafood for mercury at any point between the boat and the dinner plate. For example, the newspaper found that the government has tested only four walleye and 24 shrimp samples since 1978. As a result, federal officials have only a limited idea of how much mercury most species contain.
Mercury is now pervasive in all of the world’s oceans, lakes and streams, deposited there by air pollution, and all fish contain some level of the toxic substance, so it is virtually impossible to eat fish without ingesting some mercury.
Eating Fish is Good for YouAt the same time, medical experts agree that eating seafood is good for most people, because it carries many health benefits. Seafood is a low-fat source of protein. Some fish, such as salmon, are rich in omega-3 acids, which promote good health and help to prevent heart disease. Largely as a result of that message, per capita seafood consumption in the U.S. is at an all-time high.
So, how can consumers get the health benefits of seafood without the placing themselves at high risk of mercury contamination? The first step is to understand how mercury accumulates in fish.
How Does Mercury Accumulate in Fish?Mercury is released into the air as a byproduct of certain industrial processes. From there, it ends up in oceans, lakes and water, sometimes drifting thousands of miles before descending. This makes mercury a global environmental problem, because a factory Asia or Europe could contaminate a lake in the U.S., or vice versa.
Once mercury enters the water, bacteria there chemically alter the mercury, creating a highly toxic substance called methylmercury. Small fish eat or absorb the methylmercury and are eaten in turn by bigger fish, which are then eaten by even bigger fish. As mercury moves up the food chain, it accumulates. As a result, larger predator fish, such as sharks and swordfish, tend to contain higher levels of mercury than salmon and other fish farther down the food chain.

Meaning of Alchemy

I found that the meaning of Alchemy was " Yearning " so fascinating. Yes I guess to make something ( especially something precious like gold ) " Yearning " would be the way that makes it happen. :) Let's Yearn on ~ *

What Carbon Neutral will signify for our planet.

When we go to a National park it is prohibited to take away anything or litter. I believe we need to extend this to our whole world. Whatever came the earth should go back to the earth and of course in the other way, it's natural when what goes back to earth come from earth. That would signify our planet is back in it's natural cycle, in the natural eco-cycle.

The results from the quiz

I got all right but the coffee question. Mmmm...... not pure ....... yes suppose so. But we read 100 % coffee on the label all the time :) I laughed when I saw the burning wood question. There is a joke in Korea of that what would a Chemistry major do if you give a Yellow page phone book and the answer was burn it. Another one was what would a Medical student do and the answer was memorize it.

Are we likely to see a shift to electric cars over the coming years ?

Not likely. First, to do so the government would have to people out of their conventional car comfort zone with laws and regulations but I guess the government is also more interested in reviving the conventional cars more than the electrical cars. Also, related with this the government would be pressured by oil countries which would not wan't a shift to electric cars since this would decrese their sales. Overall, if there is to be a shift to electric cars over the coming years I guess the people would have to really yearn and build a craze over electric cars but it seems to be that people are more comfortable with conventional cars more than electric cars.

Should there be more effective control of the pharmaceutical industry ?

Of course they should. The problem is the people who can make that possible are quite not likely to make a change and come up with a more effective control over the pharmaceutical industry. The doctors would like the treats the pharmaceutical industry provides they would like to have more if possible. The government doesn't seem to likely provide a more effective control of the pharmaceutical industry. However, in spite of all these difficulties, I believe there should be more effective control of the pharmaceutical industry. Given the fact that so many people in this country rely their health on the products the pharmaceutical industry provides the influence the pharmaceutical industry could affect our country's people is enormous. We often see a lot of people popping all sorts of drugs and these chemical substances are kept on consumed by these people often the case their whole lives. These chemical drugs are dictating the way and quality of many peoples lives. To keep this to the most minimum and controlling the pharmaceutical industry to use chemicals that wouldn't harm the person's overall health and also by all means stop the pharmaceutical industry manipulate doctor's to overdose these chemical drugs to people are a crucial must do.