The Nimble Messenger of the Gods

Mineral Matters #427

The current Facebook Mineral of the Week Group’s selected theme is native elements.

Mercury is a very unusual and unique mineral and element. This Transition Metal, number 80 on the Periodic Table of Elements, is named after the Roman God Mercury, the nimble messenger of the gods, because the ancients used that name for the element known from prehistoric times. The elemental symbol Hg is derived from the Greek ὑδράργυρος (hydrargyros), which literally means "liquid silver", a descriptive name for mercury. Another name given to it is quicksilver.

And why is it called this? Well, the melting point for mercury is 234.32 Kelvin. While this may seem a lot, it is the equivalent of minus 38.83°C (minus 37.89°F)!

So if you wanted to find solid mercury, you would need to look in one of the following places: Antarctica, northern parts of Greenland, Canada, Russia, and Alaska, or high-altitude regions like the Himalayas, Andes, and Tibetan Plateau. Even then, it would need to be during their coldest periods!

Below: Red cinnabar with mercury, Jamieson Mercury mine, Quicksilver creek, Jamieson, Mansfield Shire, Victoria, Australia. Width of view 3.5mm.