Mercury By Jan Roediger

The Naming of Mercury• Named Mercury after the roman deity

because it has a very high viscosity and therefore travels fast like the god Mercury.

• The Symbol for mercury is Hg because it is named after the Latin word hydrargyrum which in essence means water silver

Early Uses

• No one knows who discovered mercury

• It was known to the Egyptians and the early Chinese

• Thought to give everlasting life

• Used in alchemy

• Used in cosmetics

Characteristics• Metal

• Liquid at room temperature

• Very Shiny

• High surface tension

• Density - 13.534g per cubic centimeter

• Highly Toxic

Obtaining Mercury

• Mercury is never found in its pure state

• Only makes up 0.08% of the earths crust

• Found in combination with the stone cinnabar

• After mining the Cinnabar is heated and the evaporated mercury is condensed

0.08

Uses• Used in thermometers

• Used to cool nuclear Reactors

• Used in blood pressure measuring devices 0.08

Mercury in Hatting

• Used by hatters to make the fur separate from the pelt and also to make it stick together into felt.

• The evaporating mercury gave of a toxic vapors which poisoned the hatters

• The mercury poisoning made hatters crazy

• Out of the traditional Quirkiness of Hatters inspired the saying “Mad as a hatter”

Works Cited

• “Mercury”, Jefferson Lab http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele080.html

• “Mercury”, Periodic table of elements las Alamos labs, 12/15/2003, http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/80.html

• “Mercury”, Radio chemistry.org, http://www.radiochemistry.org/periodictable/elements/80.html