Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

manognyakalluri 1 story

Summary

Mercury is the quixotic bad boy of the periodic table - exquisitely beautiful, but deadly. The ancients believed it was the "first matter" from which all other metals were formed. Yet it is now in such disfavour that an international treaty exists to curb its use.It is easy to see why mercury holds such fascination. It is the only metal to be liquid at room temperature. It is also one of the few things that reacts with that most alluring of all the elements: gold. The process is extraordinary to see. In his laboratory at University College London, chemistry professor Andrea Sella peels off a fragile leaf of gold and places it on a shimmering ball of mercury. Before my eyes the gold gradually vanishes, folding itself around the silver blob like bed sheets, before dissolving away. "Now boil off the mercury", explains Sella, "and you'll be left with a residue of pure gold." It is mercury's unique relationship with gold that fascinated the alchemists. But beware... "Mercury is a profound, systemic and long-term poison for humans, but also for other organisms," says Sella. "So getting mercury into the environment is a very serious issue." About half the mercury that enters the environment every year comes from volcanic eruptions and other geological processes. There is nothing we can do about it. But the other half is released by mankind. TO BE CONTINUED..........