Mercury: The Enchanting Element

Mary Hardister November 30, 2010 hydrargyrum: the Enchanting Element hydrargyrum is the take of a major roman god, a planet, and an element. The element of mercury is a liquid metal and quite unique. 1 Its ace of few elements to be a liquid in its intrinsic state, and it has an enchanting silvery reflective appearance.2 However, this metal and most(prenominal) of its compounds ar gameyly toxic. It was given the now obsolete name, hydragyrum, a Latin word meaning liquid silver, from which it its elemental symbolic representation Hg is derived from. 3 On the periodic table, it rest among prosperous and thall(a)ium with an atomic number of 80. Some of its properties include a hefty atomic weight of 200.59, 1 a stringency of 13.59, freezing point of -38.85*C, and boiling point of 356.6*C. Mercury is non soluble in water, is somewhat volatile, and (as a liquid) has such a high surface tension that it will not sozzled surfaces. 3 Mercury was known to early civilizations s uch as the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Greeks and the Romans. 4 It was treated by these cultures with a mystical fascination and respect. In many cultures such as Tibetan and Indian, Mercury was approximation by the alchemist the mystic to be the primordial element. They believed that from it all some other matter was formed. Works Cited 1 Brodersen, Klaus. 2008. Mercury (element).

In AccessScience @McGraw-Hill : encyclopaedia of science and technology online [database on the Internet]. 2007-10 ed. [New York]: McGraw-Hill. [cited 2010 Nov 30]. Available from: hypertext transfer communications protocol://www.accessscience.com/. 2 Hanlon, Michael. 2007 August 21. The Magi! cal Properties of Mercury; the Metal the EU Wants to Ban. Dailymail [Internet]. [cited 2010 November 30]. Avaliable from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-460406/The-magical-properties-Mercury-metal-EU-wants-ban.html. 3 Krebs, Robert E. The History and Use of Our acress Chemical Elements: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 1998. 129-132p. 4 Metel Matters: Mercury [Internet]. Thinkquest...If you want to get a full essay, graze it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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