{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1595504,
        "msgid": "why-mercury-is-liquid-the-scientific-explanation-behind-it-1772888243",
        "date": "2026-03-07 18:44:30",
        "title": "Why Mercury Is Liquid: The Scientific Explanation Behind It",
        "author": "Wisnubrata",
        "source": "KOMPAS",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Technology",
        "summary": "Mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature, with a melting point of minus 38.8 degrees Celsius, one of only two elements to be liquid at room temperature (the other is bromine, which is not a metal). The reason lies in mercury\u2019s position in the periodic table and its unusually weak metallic bonding due to electrons occupying a full subshell; however, periodic trends would predict a higher melting point, which mercury does not exhibit.",
        "content": "<p>Mercury is a metal, but it is liquid at room temperature. With a\nmelting point around minus 38.8 degrees Celsius, the element is one of\nonly two elements that are liquid at room temperature. The other is\nbromine, but bromine is not a metal. Then arises an interesting\nquestion: why is mercury different from other metals? The answer relates\nto mercury\u2019s position in the periodic table, as well as how its atoms\nbond with one another. Generally, the melting point of a substance\ndepends on the strength of the interatomic bonds. Chemist and senior\nchemistry lecturer at the UK Ministry of Defence, Zoe Ashbridge,\nexplains that the stronger the interatomic bonds, the more energy is\nrequired to break them. In metals, atoms are bound by metallic bonds. In\nthis structure, metal atoms form a lattice consisting of positively\ncharged ions, while free electrons move around them like a \u2018sea of\nelectrons\u2019. This structure gives metals several characteristic\nproperties, but it is this electrostatic attraction that determines the\nmelting point. In theory, mercury is in Group 12 of the periodic table.\nThat means it has 12 valence electrons that could be used to form\nmetallic bonds. However, there is a problem: all those electrons reside\nin a subshell that is already full. According to Ashbridge: \u2018When the\nsubshell is full, electrons become more stable and more difficult to\ndelocalise. This makes mercury reluctant to share electrons, even with\nother mercury atoms.\u2019 Consequently, the metallic bonds in mercury are\nmuch weaker than in other metals. But this explanation is not enough. If\nyou follow trends in the periodic table, mercury should still have a\nmelting point of around 130\u00b0C, which would make it solid at room\ntemperature. The reality, however, is not so.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-mercury-is-liquid-the-scientific-explanation-behind-it-1772888243",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}