Line 24: |
Line 24: |
| | | |
| == स्वरूपम् ॥ Characteristics == | | == स्वरूपम् ॥ Characteristics == |
− | Mercury is available in native and ore forms. Mercury is the only elemental metal that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury is silvery white, slowly tarnishes in moist air, and freezes into a soft solid like tin or lead at −38.83 °C (−37.89 °F). It boils at 356.62 °C (673.91 °F). It is a rather poor conductor of heat but a fair conductor of electricity. It alloys with copper, tin, and zinc to form amalgams, or liquid alloys. An amalgam with silver is used as a filling in dentistry. Mercury does not wet glass or cling to it, and this property, coupled with its rapid and uniform volume expansion throughout its liquid range, made it useful in thermometers.<ref name=":3" /> | + | Mercury is available in native and ore forms. Mercury is the only elemental metal that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury is silvery white, slowly tarnishes in moist air, and freezes into a soft solid like tin or lead at −38.83 °C (−37.89 °F). It boils at 356.62 °C (673.91 °F). It is a rather poor conductor of heat but a fair conductor of electricity. It alloys with copper, tin, and zinc to form amalgams, or liquid alloys. An amalgam with silver is used as a filling in dentistry. Mercury does not wet glass or cling to it, and this property, coupled with its rapid and uniform volume expansion throughout its liquid range, made it useful in thermometers.<ref name=":3" /> Mercury is a silver white liquid metal with a slight bluish tinge in thin films. It transmits ultra-violet light. |
| | | |
| According to Ayurveda texts<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><blockquote>अन्तसुनीलो बहिरुज्ज्वलो यो मध्यान्हसूर्यप्रतिमप्रकाशः । शस्तोऽध धूम्रः परिपाण्डुराश्च चित्रो न योज्यो रसकर्मासिद्धौ ॥ (Rasendramangala and Rasendrasara sangraha 1.9)<ref name=":2" /> | | According to Ayurveda texts<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><blockquote>अन्तसुनीलो बहिरुज्ज्वलो यो मध्यान्हसूर्यप्रतिमप्रकाशः । शस्तोऽध धूम्रः परिपाण्डुराश्च चित्रो न योज्यो रसकर्मासिद्धौ ॥ (Rasendramangala and Rasendrasara sangraha 1.9)<ref name=":2" /> |
Line 95: |
Line 95: |
| * Oxide Ore | | * Oxide Ore |
| ** Monotroydite (HgO) | | ** Monotroydite (HgO) |
− | Extraction of Mercury and Its Purification - Modern Method
| |
| | | |
− | Extraction of mercury from cinnabar involves the following steps. | + | === Extraction of Mercury and Its Purification - Modern Method === |
| + | Extraction of mercury from cinnabar involves the following steps.<ref name=":2" /> |
| | | |
| # Crushing and Concentration: The ore is crushed and finely powdered in ball mills and then concentrated by frost process. | | # Crushing and Concentration: The ore is crushed and finely powdered in ball mills and then concentrated by frost process. |
| # Combined Roasting and Distillation: The concentrated ore is placed on the perforated arches and heated by flames rising from the furnace below mercuric oxide first formed by the oxidation of cinnabar, decomposes at about 50<sup>o</sup>K to give mercury | | # Combined Roasting and Distillation: The concentrated ore is placed on the perforated arches and heated by flames rising from the furnace below mercuric oxide first formed by the oxidation of cinnabar, decomposes at about 50<sup>o</sup>K to give mercury |
− | # HgS + 3O<sub>2</sub> → 2HgO + 2SO<sub>2</sub>
| + | HgS + 3O<sub>2</sub> → 2HgO + 2SO<sub>2</sub> |
− | # 2HgO → 2Hg + O<sub>2</sub>
| + | |
| + | 2HgO → 2Hg + O<sub>2</sub> |
| + | |
| + | Mercury vapourises and it is condensed in a series of chambers on either side of the mercury. |
| + | |
| + | '''Purification''': Metal (mercury) obtained contains copper, zinc, bismuth, and lead as impurities, which are removed by filtering through thick canvas or chronious leather. Mercury to be filtered is then dropped in a long tube filled with dilute Nitric acid. The base metal impurities dissolve in dilute nitric acid as their nitrates. Further purification of mercury is carried out by vacuum distillation or fractioned electrolysis. |
| | | |
| == रासभेदाः ॥ Types of Parada == | | == रासभेदाः ॥ Types of Parada == |