Símbolo | Hg |
Número atómico | 80 |
Grupo | 12 (Familia del zinc) |
Período | 6 |
Bloque | d |
Clasificación | Metal de transición |
Apariencia | Silvery |
Color | Plata |
Número de protones | 80 p+ |
Número de neutrones | 121 n0 |
Número de electrones | 80 e- |
Fase en STP | Líquido |
Densidad | 13.534 g/cm3 |
Peso atómico | 200.592 u |
Punto de fusión | 234.321 K -38.829 °C -37.8922 °F |
Punto de ebullición | 629.88 K 356.73 °C 674.114 °F |
Entalpía de vaporización | 59.3 kJ/mol |
Electronegatividad (Escala de Pauling) | 2 |
Afinidad electrónica | -48 kJ/mol |
Estado de oxidación | −2 , +1, +2 (a mildly basic oxide) |
Energía de ionización |
|
Descubrimiento | Egyptians (1500 BC) |
Descubrimiento de mercurio Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC. In China and Tibet, mercury use was thought to prolong life, heal fractures, and maintain generally good health, although it is now known that exposure to mercury vapor leads to serious adverse health effects. Alchemists thought of mercury as the First Matter from which all metals were formed. They believed that different metals could be produced by varying the quality and quantity of sulfur contained within the mercury. The purest of these was gold, and mercury was called for in attempts at the transmutation of base (or impure) metals into gold, which was the goal of many alchemists. |