Mercury
Science Topic 1 assignment
By Shakira Tuffnell
Introduction:
Mercury, (its chemical symbol Hg), comes from the Greek word hydrargyrum, meaning, water silver, although T is commonly named as quick silver. Mercuries atom number is 80 and its mass number is 200.59. It is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature (around 20-25 degrees Celsius).
Chemical properties and its reactants:
Mercury reacts with many metals to form alloys, such as, gold, silver, aluminium, zinc and cadmium. These alloys then form an amalgam. When Mercury reacts with aluminium it forms an amalgam, which then destroys the oxide layer protecting the aluminium from oxidising. This then causes the aluminium to corrode. Mercury also reacts with tin and silver
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Its freezing point is -38.83 degrees Celsius and its boiling point is 356.73 degrees Celsius. It has a white/silvery appearance, almost like a mirror. It has a high surface tension but is a bad conductor of heat. Mercury has 34 isotopes and 7 stable isotopes.
Mining and production:
Mercury is found in its ore cinnabar (Mercury sulfite). To extract the Mercury from the ore, the ore is ground up and neatest to around 580 degrees Celsius. The Mercury vapour then escapes from the ores and the Sulfur dioxide is removed. The Mercury is then condensed and washed with nitric acid to purify it.
Atomic structure of Mercury:
Mercury has 121 neutrons and 80 protons in its nucleus. It also has 6 electron shells with 2 electrons in the first shell, 8 electrons in the second shell, 18 electrons in shell 3, 32 electrons in the fourth shell, 18 electrons in the fifth shell and 2 in the sixth
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For example, Mercury was used in thermometers, barometers and diffusion pumps. It was also used in fluorescent light bulbs and batteries. Mercury is still used for dentistry purposes and also to extract gold. Mercuries amalgam is used to dissolve the gold and then separate them for distillation.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Mercury is a unique metal as it is the only one existing as a liquid at room temperature. It is highly toxic and also very rare. It reacts/works with many other metals and forms an amalgam with almost any other metal.
Bibliography:
Agata Blaszczak-Boxe (December 18 2014) LiveScience. http://www.livescience.com/39232-facts-about-mercury.html
Anne Marie Helmenstine (2016) AboutEducation. http://chemistry.about.com/od/mercury/a/10-Mercury-Facts.htm
Royal society of chemistry (2016) periodic table http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/80/mercury
Stephen Mifsud (2000) Marz Kreations. http://www.marz-kreations.com/Chemistry/Cation-ID/Info/168o-HG.html#Info02
Yinon Bentor (2012) Periodic Table of Mercury.
When mining gold there is about 1 ounce of gold per ton though when mining on the surface that statistic drops to about 0.5 ounce of gold per ton. Gold is highly valued at about $120,000 per truck this is because gold is malleable, and it never loses luster or rusts. Next, copper which is also a valued metal because of its specific properties, it conducts electricity and bacteria doesn’t like to come in contact with copper. Many people have found the value in copper and trade copper in the same way stocks and shares of companies are traded. And finally bronze which is made of 80% copper and 20% tin, bronze is used in the manufacturing of bells. Bronze is used in the making of bells because when copper, a pure substance, is hit it creates a ripple effect making the bell easy to dent, with tin the rows of copper atoms are more stabilized, but too much tin can result in a bell cracking as the Liberty bell did.
Mercury is a heavy metal with serious side effects like heart problems, digestive imbalance, loss of memory, breathing problems, ADD, depression, etc.
As previously stated, mercury is number 80 on the periodic table of elements. It is a metal, a transition metal to be exact. It has a symbol of “Hg”, an atomic mass of 200.59, and there are 7 known stable isotopes
The first planet after the Sun, Mercury, has very similar geological features with the Earth's moon. Its surface is covered with varying sizes of craters which was used by scientists to determine the planet's age. It is said that these craters are the "scars" from asteroid and comets during the Late Heavy Bombardment Period. Measuring 1550km, the Caloris Basin is the largest crater in Mercury's surface and 14 other large crater basins were found. Although it has been identified that Mercury's surface is geologically inactive, large deposits of water ice can be found near its poles. These bodies of water ice were found on deep craters around Mercury's poles and are always in the shadows. If one side of the planet is covered with craters, another
The first planet in our solar system, Mercury, is a very rough, jagged planet, complete with many craters and has many large rocks and dust. This dust is very fine, and small, like grains of sand. It has no atmosphere, so intense temperature fluctuations occur from day to night. The temperature ranges goes from 90K to 700K. However, due to much studying, we can concur that this planet is geologically dead, and hasn’t been ‘alive’ for an extended period of time. Also on this planet are no signs of rivers, clouds, storms, or really any type of weather. It can be seen to resemble the moon based off of certain aspects. In 1974, the Mariner 10 got within 10,000 km of Mercury, so we could have better, high-resolution pictures of that planet.
Origin of the name: As Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, thus the fastest planet to orbit it, Mercury was named after the Roman messenger god, Mercury. According to mythology, along with being the god of travellers, he had a winged hat and sandals, so he could fly.
The surface of Mercury is heavily cratered and closely resembles the surface of the Moon. The largest crater on Mercury’s surface is called Caloris Basin and it was created by one of the largest impacts in the history of Solar System. There is also present a number of craters that have irregular shape and slightly different color from the rest of the surface that could be an evidence of past subsurface volcanic activity. Probably the most unusual feature of Mercury are compression folds that were most likely caused by the contraction of the surface during the cooling of the planet. However some of those folds seem to be younger and are probably caused by tidal forces of the Sun. Mercury’s poles seem to be brighter than the rest of the planet which may be an indicator of the presence of the polar ice caps.
Mercury is a highly toxic substance and in high doses is known to trigger a host of health problems, including kidney, immune system and neurological damage. What is not well understood is the potential harm from low dose, long term exposures, such as exposure from dental amalgam. It is true that the amount of exposure from dental amalgam is low, however these fillings are often in the mouth for decades or longer so there are concerns over the potential health risks from prolonged mercury exposure. The potential for mercury-related disease, illness and disorders can be very concerning to those who have these controversial fillings. Over 50% of every amalgam filling is made up of mercury (in weight terms) and the rest is a mixture of silver,
Mercury, when one hears the word they man instantly think of fish or that old timey class thermometer. Mercury is an element that is found within different regions of the world and can be in inorganic forms such as metallics (Bernhoft 2011). Yet people seem to forget and realize the true harm that come from the chemical itself. However there is one thing that people forget when dealing with any type of metal, it can be a vapor, yes mercury can be vapor (Bernhoft 2011). Rather, in fact, that is another way that many people get sick from mercury because it is in the air and can get into our systems in multiple different ways. However mercury can affect people differently depending upon how much mercury goes into the system and how it goes in (Bernhoft 2011). However the debate as to how the mercury truly affects the body is contervital, it is known that it can cause major damage to many different organs, however it can cause the most damage to the brain. While the amount of damage done depends upon the dosages, if there is a large dosage it
Have you ever considered how Mercury and Yttrium compare with one another? There are many ways in which these two elements can be compared and contrasted. These elements from the Periodic Table of Elements differ in size, one more than twice that of the other, however they also share many physical similarities. Their locations on the periodic table also contrast one another.
The planet mercury is a little bit similar to the Earth's moon. Like our Moon, Mercury's surface is covered with craters caused by space rock the planet Mercury looks a little impacts. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the eighth largest. It has a diameter of 4,880 kilometres. Mercury has a thick iron core and a thinner outer crust of rocky material. The surface of Mercury has enormous escarpments as much as three kilometres high and hundreds of kilometres in length. In addition to its heavily cratered surface Mercury also has a region of relatively smooth plains. Because it has almost no atmosphere to retain heat, Mercury's surface experiences the greatest temperature variation of the planets in the Solar System, ranging from 100
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It is second most dense planet (after the Earth) in the Solar System with a density of 5.43 g/cm³. Mercury does not have a atmosphere as a result of which there is huge variation in its surface temperature, ranging from 427 °C during the day to −173 °C during the night. The temperature at the poles is constantly below −93 °C.
To begin with, germanium is used in the manufacture of wide-angle camera lenses. The element gives special properties to the glass. Since, germanium has traits that are similar to silicon and tin, the semiconductor industry uses germanium is used to make transistors for use in electronic devices. Germanium is also used to create alloys and as a phosphor in fluorescent lamps. In other words, germanium is used to make camera lenses for electronic
Mercury in dental amalgam is not poisonous. When mercury is combined with other materials in dental amalgam, its chemical nature changes, so it is essentially harmless. The amount of mercury released in the mouth under the pressure of chewing and grinding is extremely small and no cause for alarm. In fact, the amount is less than what patients are exposed to in food, air and water.