What happens to mercury when you boil it ?

Question

And what would happen if you then dropped boiling mercury into liquid nitrogen ?

Answer 1

It turns to mercury gas, if it's boiled in an oxygen containing atmosphere it'll react to give mercury oxide (HgO) but not under an inert atmosphere. This is how in the lab you clean up mercury from apparatus, filter through a filter paper with a small hole in it (to remove particles of mercury salts), wash the mercury with dilute nitric acid (to remove very small particles of mercury salts), then wash with lots and lots of water, then distill under vacuum.

If you dropped boiling mercury into liquid nitrogen you'd get splashed with the nitrogen and the mercury would freeze if there was enough nitrogen to do the job. If you did it in a closed room then you'd probably asphixiate as the nitrogen will rapidly displace the air and breathing is controlled by rising blood CO2 and not falling blood O2.

Answer 2

Boiling Mercury

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What happens to mercury when you boil it ?
And what would happen if you then dropped boiling mercury into liquid nitrogen ?

Answer 4

The Mercury goes into gas phase as every material that is given enough temperature.
If you put boiling Mercury into liquid nitrogen you create an explosion. The nitrogen gas is created of the liquid and expands enormously.

Answer 5

1. You get mercury oxide vapor(HgO).

Note: breathing even small amounts of mercury will cause you to die slowly, in a rather unpleasant fashion.

2. The mercury would freeze, and the nitrogen would boil.

Answer 6

Mercury when heated gives of mercurous oxide [ extremely deadly gas ] and if dropped into liquid nitrogen it would just go solid.

Answer 7

It turns to mercury vapor this was the main rectification method for high DC currents 50 years ago best not inhaled!!!

Answer 8

It boils bubbles and gives of mecury vapour.

Answer 9

extreme hot and extreme cold equals a big boom