Wednesday, January 27, 2010

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.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie,
    I think that dentists aren't using mercury containing substances anymore. They found that people were getting mercury poisoning from their fillings! I had mine taken out years ago, luckily!

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  2. I wonder how non-mercury thermometer work? I think they have found alternatives, for instance in home thermometers, but I don't know what they are. Also, wondering why mercury is used in thermometers if it has a narrow temperature range in its liquid state...

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