Interesting Facts About Mercury
Mercury is probably one of the few metals that possess many interesting properties as well as a vast range of applications. Here are just a few interesting facts about this chemical element.
First of all, mercury is the only metal and the second substance (along with bromine) that is in a liquid state at room temperature. It only becomes solid at a temperature of -39 degrees Celsius. An increase in temperature to +356 degrees Celsius causes mercury to boil and turn into a toxic vapor. Our bodies also contain mercury, but the amount is minuscule - 13 milligrams.
So Heavy, You Can't Lift It
Mercury is a substance with a high specific gravity and high density. If you try to lift a 10-liter bucket filled with mercury, you won't succeed. The weight of mercury was first measured in 1627 by Robert Boyle, and his figures remain accurate today: 1 liter of mercury weighs approximately 13.6 kg, and this density is 13.6 times greater than that of water.
If you fill a bathtub with mercury and throw in an iron ball, it will not sink but float like a rubber ball.
Talisman
A few centuries ago, people believed that if purified mercury could be made solid, it could be turned into gold. However, they also relied on the magical properties of this substance. For example, ancient Egyptian priests placed a few grams of mercury in a wooden or granite vessel and placed it in the throat of a pharaoh's mummy - they believed it would protect their ruler after death.
Ordinary Egyptians also counted on the help of mercury, carrying a vial of it as an amulet. Many people believed and still believe that mercury brings good luck, so even today, mercury talismans are not uncommon. They are used by horse racing and card game enthusiasts. To prevent the poisonous properties of mercury from harming health, the substance is placed in a hole made in a nutmeg and sealed with wax. Modern magicians can also be seen with glass rings containing sealed mercury.
Medicine
Due to its high toxicity, mercury is now almost never used in medical preparations, except perhaps in thermometers, which contain about 2 grams of this metal. Mercury can also act as a preservative for vaccines.
However, as recently as the 1970s, mercury was widely used in medicine. For example, mercusal, containing mercury ions, was used as a strong diuretic, mercury chloride was used as a laxative, and mercury cyanide was included in antiseptics and ointments. Silver amalgam, consisting of mercury, was relatively recently used in dentistry as a filling material.
The traveler François Bernier (1620-1688) noted during his visits to India that local yogis lived extraordinarily long lives - up to 200 years. Bernier wrote that the yogis drank a potion containing mercury and sulfur. The yogis confirmed that a few drops of this elixir per day kept their bodies in good shape and, most importantly, promoted longevity. It is also known that in ancient times, the Chinese made "pills of immortality" based on mercury.
Victim of Treatment
During the exhumation of Ivan the Terrible's body, scientists determined that the mercury content in the tsar's body was five times the acceptable norm. It is known that mercury was used in Russia to treat syphilis as early as the 15th-16th centuries. Some researchers have suggested that Ivan the Terrible, who suffered from this dangerous disease, was subjected to treatment with "liquid silver." N. M. Karamzin wrote that the tsar had "changed so much that he was unrecognizable: his face was distorted, his features disfigured, his gaze dimmed, and almost no hair was left on his head and beard." Sudden hair loss is a clear sign of mercury poisoning, as are the epileptic seizures that tormented the tsar. Mercury intoxication is believed by modern experts to be the cause of Ivan the Terrible's death.
"Mercury" Fish
It is known that mercury is present in seawater. Recently, it was found that small fish can accumulate this substance. At the same time, predators, both fish and birds that hunt small fish, can retain mercury in their bodies at even higher concentrations. For example, if herring contains 0.01 parts per thousand of mercury, sharks have a level exceeding 1 part per thousand.
American scientists who studied fish for mercury content found this substance in every fish! Moreover, 25% of the fish had mercury levels above the permissible level. Tuna and lobster were in the high-risk group. Environmentalists have already begun sounding the alarm, warning about the dangers of consuming fish and other seafood, although fishing companies, for obvious reasons, call these warnings "scaremongering."
Prohibited for Transport!
Interestingly, mercury is banned from being transported on airplanes, not because passengers and crew might be poisoned. When mercury comes into contact with aluminum alloys, it destroys the oxide film on the surface of the aluminum, making the metal brittle and rapidly deteriorating in air. This problem was particularly relevant to aviation in the 1970s. Planes that experienced a large mercury spill on board were no longer fit for service. Depending on the extent of the damage, they were either sent for major repairs or decommissioned.
