What Is Mercury?
As anyone who's ever broken a thermometer can attest, mercury is a very fascinating substance. It also has an interesting history. Named after the fleet-footed Roman messenger of the gods, mercury has been used for more than 2,000 years. Mercury ore cinnabar has even been found smeared on Neolithic (stone age) skulls. Its first recorded mention is a reference by Aristotle in the fourth century B.C., a time when the silvery-white, heavy metal was used in religious ceremonies. Spanish miners used mercury to process gold ore for ancient Rome; when their mercury supply ran out…
