Abstract
Mercury, also called liquid silver, has the atomic number 80, an atomic weight of 200.59, boiling point of 356.6°C, melting point of −38.9°C, specific gravity of 13.55, vapor pressure of 1.22 × 10−3 mm at 20°C (2.8 × 10−3 mm at 30°C), and solubility in water of 6 × 10−6 g per 100 ml (25°C). It is a heavy, glistening, silvery-white metal, a rather poor conductor of heat but a fair conductor of electricity. It has seven stable isotopes with the following percent abundances: 195Hg (0.15); 198Hg (10.1); 199Hg (17.0); 200Hg (23.3); 201Hg (13.2); 202Hg (29.6); and 204Hg (6.7). There are many minerals of Hg; the commonest are the sulfides cinnabar and metacinnabar. Mercury is recovered almost entirely from cinnabar (α-HgS, 86.2% Hg); less important sources are livingstonite (HgS•2Sb2S3), metacinnabar (β-HgS), and about 25 other Hg-containing minerals. Its unusual high volatility, which increases with increasing temperature, accounts for its presence in the atmosphere in appreciable amounts.
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Adriano, D.C. (1986). Mercury. In: Trace Elements in the Terrestrial Environment. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1907-9_9
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