When you buy through link on our site , we may earn an affiliate delegacy . Here ’s how it works .
Mercury bet pretty , in its shining , fast - moving liquid variety , but do n’t stir ! It can be extremely poisonous to humans .
The symbol Hg that mercury is known by comes from its Hellenic name , mercury , which means " liquid atomic number 47 " — to contemplate its shiny surface . The element is also known as hydrargyrum for its mobility . Named after thefastest - moving planetin thesolar system , mercury has been known to humanity for ages . In fact , grounds of its use of goods and services has been found inChina , India and Egypt , and traces of mercury were discover in 3,500 - year - old Egyptian tombs .
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a very toxic element . It can enter the body through an open wound or by inhaling or take in it . It can then induce scathe to nerves , the liver and the kidney , as well as a phone number of other symptoms .
Despite its toxic quality , Hg can still be utilitarian to us . The chemical element conduct electricity and is used in electric shift of thermoregulator and sealed types of doze alarm - case alarm system pin clover , harmonize to theCollege of Natural Resources at the University of California , Berkeley(CNR ) " The place where the great unwashed in all likelihood see it most commonly is in the newfangled visible radiation bulbs — the compact fluorescent fixture light source lightbulb , " where quicksilver vaporization is one of the chemical substance used , said Daniel King , an associate prof of chemistry at Drexel University .
Due to its high concentration and compactness , Hg is also used to make thermometers , barometer and other scientific instruments , harmonize to theJefferson Lab . However , for condom reasons , consumer use of mercury in thermometers has become less coarse over the year , as digital thermometers have been enclose . In 2008 , 13 states introduced jurisprudence that limit the manufacture , cut-rate sale and/or statistical distribution of atomic number 80 feverishness thermometers : California , Connecticut , Illinois , Indiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , New Hampshire , Rhode Island , Oregon , Washington , theEnvironmental Protection Agency report .
Just the facts
Extracting gold
Mercury is typically found in the manakin of its common ore cinnabar — atomic number 80 sulfite — and can rarely be happen on its own . To extract pure mercury , the ore is ground up and heated to the temperature of about 1,076 degrees F ( 580 degree Celsius ) with oxygen present in the process . Hg vapor escapes from the ores and atomic number 16 dioxide is removed , grant to CNR . The metallic element is condensed and washed with nitric superman to purify it , and then distill .
Mercury can form alloys with gold , flatware , zinc and cadmium , which are bid amalgams . Through those amalgam , mercury can be used to express gold from rocks . When atomic number 80 comes into liaison with gold , the gold dissolves into the hydrargyrum and then the two are separated , with the mercury being extract off .
Mercury also mold chemical compound with other elements . Interestingly , one of such compounds — mercury nitrate — play a theatrical role in the coining of the term " disturbed as a hatter . "
" Mercury was actually used in the devising of hat from animal hide , " King said . In the 18th one C people used the hydrargyrum nitrate compound to clean the pelts before they turned them into hats .
" And they discovered that a big percentage of the citizenry who were work with those chemicals ended up suffering from brain harm , " he said . " So the term ' mad as a hatmaker ' actually comes from exposure to mercury . "
Other mutual quicksilver compounds admit mercurous chloride ( HgCl2 ) — a extremely venomous Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and that was once used as a wound antimicrobic . Another example is mercuric chloride ( Hg2Cl2 ) , also be intimate as calomel – an antiseptic used to stamp out bacteria , according to the Jefferson Lab . mercurous sulphide ( HgS ) is used to make a cerise paint paint called orange red , and mercuric oxide ( HgO ) is used to make Hg batteries .
Who knew?
Current research
Due to mercury ’s toxic potential , researchers keep stumbling upon ways in which the factor may be harmful to humans and the environment . For example , scientists have argue about the potential toxicity of amalgam used in dental filling that contains about 50 percent atomic number 80 . In areviewof literature published in 2005 in the journal Gesundheitswesen , researchers receive that exposure to mercury in dental woof could lead to kidney and autoimmunity problems , neurobehavioral change and even autism . " Removal of dental amalgam leads to permanent improvement of various inveterate complaints in a relevant turn of patients in various trials , " the author wrote in the review .
However , in anotherreview , issue in the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association , investigators came to a different conclusion , express that : " The amount of mercury release from dental amalgam is minimum ; a person would have to have 490 dental amalgam surfaces for there to be enough mercury vapor and ionic hydrargyrum given off from amalgam filling to meet the maximum vulnerability guidelines . "
Upon reviewing scientific evidence , the FDA concluded that " dental amalgam fillings secure for adults and children ages 6 and above , " according to the government agency ’s site .
There is also a growing body of research on methylmercury — the most toxic variant of mercury — and its harmful issue on the environment and human health . masses get exposed to methylmercury in the main through eating polluted Pisces the Fishes and seafood that pick up the toxic compound from the sea . Elemental mercury , the same anatomy of hydrargyrum that can be find in thermometer , gets converted into methylmercury by ocean bacterium .
" It [ methylmercury ] accumulates in the smaller fish that are then corrode by the bigger fish and it works its way up the food Ernst Boris Chain , " in a process called bioaccumulation , King say . Methylmercury is specially dangerous to develop embryos , which are five to 10 times more sensitive to its damaging effects on the nervous system than adults , grant to theU.S. Geological Survey .
Mercury get into the sea from multiple sources , such as aviation and water pollution as well as by nature occurring minerals . Much of the mercury in the North Pacific , for instance , comes fromair pollution , specially power plants in Asia , according to a study published in August 2013 in the daybook Nature Geoscience . In another study , print in May 2009 in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycle , investigator estimated that the levels of mercury in the North Pacific could double by 2050 if human - hasten emissions continue at the current rate .
Additional resources
