Stumbled upon today a post about a broken thermometer, revered some comments, remembered that promised to write a post about Mercury. Mercury is known and used by mankind since ancient times, in view of which surroundeded the fog of myths, rumors and prejudices.
On the one hand it is a highly toxic element of periodical system of chemical elements of D. I. Mendeleev, on the other hand-not so terrible devil. After all (concerning all substances) the matter is not in the substance, but in the ability to treat it and in the anatomical arrangement of hands of this or that person. As the proverb says-Give a fool glass * uy... To discard skates with the same success it is possible and from more widespread substances. But nobody is safe from accidents anyway. Hope the post you like.
Mercury is an amazing and unique element, I would even say-beautiful. Quite a rare metal. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature. Alchemists betrayed Mercury most important, considering that Zatverdevaja Mercury turns into gold (alchemists generally harsh guys, even urine because of the color of the gold to turn tried). They also assigned mercury to the symbol mercury, which it is denoted until now. The international designation HG (Hidrargirum) is translated from Latin as "Liquid silver ". Now mercury and its compounds are used quite widely in industry (especially in metallurgy), in technology (thermometers, barometers, position sensors), in Medecine (formerly even drank mercury for the treatment of bowels), in the chemical industry and in Agriculture. With most metals forms terdye and liquid alloys-amalgam. (Neblshoe retreat with regards to red mercury-it does not exist. In pure form the isotopes of mercury color do not change, in compounds may have a reddish tint, but nothing more miraculous. Red Mercury lies on a shelf between a kilogram of dead mosquitoes and the game " Electronics "with Disney cartoon).