Mercury
Real Metals · Uncommon · Timeless
The metal you can pour. Mercury is dense enough that a lead ball floats on it, and it dissolves gold into a paste, which is how a thousand church domes were gilded and how the men who gilded them died. Hatters used it to felt fur, and went mad.
Identity
- Symbol
- Hg
- Atomic number
- 80
- Source
- Natural element
- Also known as
- Hydrargyrum, Hg, Quicksilver
- Ores, before industry and since
- Cinnabar
- Used in alchemy
- Mercury Vial
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Brilliant silver-white liquid at room temperature, uniquely fluid and reflective
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 13.53 g/cm³
- Melting point
- -39 °C
- Boiling point
- 357 °C
- Lighter
- Gromril
- Denser
- Ebony
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Medium
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 0
- Harder
- Lead
- Workability
- Easy
- Brittleness
- Tough
- Malleability
- None
- Ductility
- None
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- High
- Reactivity
- Low
Lore & Narrative
Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried in a tomb reportedly featuring rivers of flowing mercury representing the seas of China. He likely died from mercury poisoning after consuming mercury-laced elixirs his alchemists promised would grant immortality.
- Notable uses
- Thermometers, barometers, gold extraction, alchemical processes
- Forge uses
- Alchemical, Measurement instruments
- Worldbuilding traits
- Liquid, Toxic, Alchemical, Transformative
Sources
- U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Mercury, USGS, 2025
- Cinnabar, Wikipedia
- Almadén, Wikipedia
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