Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

Deepie

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Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

30 November 2013, 13:54

Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

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.

More---> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25130770

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Tags: bbc, carbon, con, magazine, mat, water
CleverClogs (RIP)

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30 November 2013, 14:48

Re: Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

In water, mercury transforms into a highly toxic organic molecule - methyl mercury - which is readily absorbed into the bodies of algae and plankton.

Oh, really?

When I last studied chemistry, water was composed of oxygen and hydrogen, whilst organic compounds contained carbon. Unless mercury really is able to perform a transmutation of elemental oxygen into carbon, the above reaction would appear to be impossible.
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Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

Mercury: A beautiful but poisonous metal

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