Mercury

Atomic number

80

Atomic mass (u)

200.59

Category

Transition metal

Standard state

Liquid

Melting point

-38.83 °C (234.32 K)

Boiling point

356.73 °C (629.88 K)

Density (g/cm³)

13.5336

Electronegativity (Pauling)

2

Electron configuration

[Xe]6s2 4f14 5d10

Oxidation states

+2, +1

Atomic radius (pm)

209

First ionization energy (eV)

10.438

Discovery & recognition

Discovery year / period (PubChem)

Ancient

Discovery credited to (RSC)

No individual discoverer recorded by this source

Date or period recorded by RSC

approx 1500BC

Discovery place

Known since antiquity; no single first-discovery place is established.

An ancient date does not identify a first human discovery. Different references may date observation, isolation and formal recognition differently.

Natural occurrence & production

The creation of an element’s nuclei and its concentration into terrestrial deposits are different processes. The occurrence note below concerns its presence or production on Earth; it is not a complete account of nucleosynthesis.

“Mercury rarely occurs uncombined in nature, but can be found as droplets in cinnabar (mercury sulfide) ores.”

Royal Society of Chemistry · occurrence excerpt ↗

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Reference values are not product specifications. Blank values have not been estimated. For superheavy elements, some properties and family assignments are theoretical or incompletely measured.