HG/MERCURY

Hatters (people who made hats) were up close and personal with Mercury every day, using it to treat the felt and beaver fur that they lined the hats with. However, they didn't know that Mercury held a dark secret: Poison!
The mercury poisoning caused the hatters to go insane, thus the term "Mad Hatter".
However, Mercury, or Hg, has been around...

Mercury has been around a long time. A REALLY long time. The oldest sample found was in an Egyptian tomb from the 16th century B.C! It's symbol, Hg, comes from the Latin term hyrdrargyrum, which means watery silver. A death from Mercury occurred in 1997, when Professor Karen Wetterhahn, studying the effects of heavy metals on the environment, spilled dimeythyl Mercury, a lethal form of Mercury, onto her hands.

A MERCURY ATOM CONTAINS:

• 80 Protons
• 80 Electrons
• 121 Neutrons

Properties of Mercury!
Number 80 on the table
Atomic mass is 200.59 amu
Melts at -38.85° Celsius
Boils at 365.6° Celsius
Density is 13.59 g/cm3
Mercury is a Group 12 transition metal
Liquid at room temperature

USES FOR MERCURY!

• Mercury light switches
• Mercury thermostats and thermometers
• Mercury vapor lights
• Price: $1.74 per 100 grams
• Found in the compund cinnabar

Mercury Thermostat

Mercury Thermometer

Mercury Lightswitch

Mercury is also used in dentistry as an amalgam, which is a compound between Mercury and any other metal.

Interesting Facts!
Mercury is the only liquid METAL at room temp.
Lead can float on Mercury.
Mercury's strong surface tension causes to form into bubbles on the ground
To break locks, criminals would drill multiple pockets inside a bullet, and fill them with Mercury. When they shot, the Mercury would compress, and explode everywhere, blowing out the lock.
If you fill a bottle with Mercury and dump it out, the bottle will still be dry. This is due to the surface tension.

MERCURY POISONING

MERCURY AND BROMINE