Atomic number 80
Mercury
Transition metal
In the real world
Quick facts
- Atomic mass
- 200.59
- Group
- 12
- Period
- 6
- State (STP)
- liquid
- Electronegativity
- 2.00
- Common ox. states
- +1, +2
Properties
Electron configuration
[Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s²
- Ionization energy
- 1007.1 kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- -48.0 kJ/mol
- Melting point
- 234.32 K (-38.8 °C)
- Boiling point
- 629.88 K (356.7 °C)
How dangerous is it?
3/5 · Hazardous
Old thermometers were full of this liquid metal. Its real danger is the vapor it slowly gives off and its compounds, not the silvery bead itself.
- ToxicImmediate and cumulative
Mercury vapor and mercury compounds are nerve poisons that build up in the body over time. (the vapor and its compounds, not the bulk liquid metal)
Kept cool and sealed so it does not evaporate; spills are cleaned with a kit, never a vacuum.
How it bonds
Mercury is the only metal liquid at room temperature - relativistic effects pull the 6s electrons in close, weakening Hg-Hg metallic bonds. Forms +1 (Hg₂²⁺, an unusual paired ion) and +2 (HgCl₂). Toxic in essentially every form; methylmercury bioaccumulates in fish.
