• Question: what is unusual about the element HG

    Asked by amisazaman to Tom, Tim, Sarah, Derek, Dalya on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Tim Millar

      Tim Millar answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Mercury – its runny

    • Photo: Derek McKay-Bukowski

      Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Mercury (Hg) is a metal that is liquid at room temperature (25 deg C). What that means is that it is also a liquid conductor of electricity at room temperature… which is rather neat (and used to be used in old fashioned tilt-switches).

      Additionally, mercury is very dense. It is also toxic to humans.

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      The Greek name for Mercury is Hydragyrum. This is where the symbol Hg comes from. It means “water-silver”.

      Mercury readily forms alloys with other metals and we use this in the lab in our reactions. It’s called an Amalgam.

      Mercury used to be used in thermometers. The mercury thermometer was invented by a man named Daniel Fahrenheit. It works because the volume of mercury within the glass expands and contracts depending on the temperature.

      Mercury is pretty toxic and if we ever break a thermometer or drop a bottle of amalgam we have to evacuate the area and then use this special sponge thing to suck it all up. Mercury is volatile which means it forms a vapor, and you have to be careful not to breathe it in because it’ll give you a headache.

    • Photo: Tom Crick

      Tom Crick answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at standard conditions for temperature and pressure (0 °C and 100 kPa)…but we commonly say that it is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.

      It is a transition metal in the periodic table.

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