Element Mercury

As anyone who has ever broken a thermometer can agree, Mercury is a very interesting substance. Named after the second planet of our solar system, Mercury has been used in thermometers, barometers, electrical devices, etc. Mercury is rarely found out in the open, but an unknown discoverer obtained Mercury from cinnabar ore in Egypt in about 1500 BC. Mercury is member of the transition metals, and is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor …

…and advertising signs. Other common uses are in making pesticides, dental preparations, fluorescent lights, batteries, and catalysts. The ground state electron configuration of Mercury is [Xe]4f145g106s2. It holds 80 protons and electrons, and 121 neutrons. Mercury's atomic mass is 200.59 amu. The most common ionization energy of Mercury is 202 Hg or 1-. Altogether, Mercury is a very remarkable element and being found in many of the everyday things that we use, it is extremely useful.