Mercury (element)
chemical element with symbol Hg and atomic number 80
Mercury is a chemical element; it has symbol Hg (from Latin hydrargyrum) and atomic number 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver. A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure. As well as having the lowest freezing point, mercury has the lowest boiling point and subsequently the narrowest liquid state range of any metal at standard conditions.
Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is obtained by grinding natural cinnabar or synthetic mercuric sulfide. Exposure to mercury and mercury-containing organic compounds is toxic to the nervous system, immune system and kidneys of humans and other animals; mercury poisoning can result from exposure to water-soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methylmercury) either directly or through mechanisms of biomagnification.
Mercury is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, float valves, mercury switches, mercury relays, fluorescent lamps and other devices, but concerns about the element's toxicity have led to a reduction in the amount of mercury used in these instruments, or manufacturers not using it altogether. It remains in use in scientific research applications and in amalgam for dental restoration in some locales. It is also still used in fluorescent lighting, although the quantity of mercury used is now smaller.
“Mercury (element)” enters the record as chemical element with symbol Hg and atomic number 80. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Mercury, element and chemical can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q925. The Library of Congress control number is sh85083794. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mercury (element)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.