Why is mercury a liquid at room temperature?
In: 4
Is equivalent to asking *what dictates the boiling/melting point of an element*. It’s atomic bonds. Some are easier to break, others are tougher. Depending on the element, atoms will have different numbers of protons/neutrons/electrons, which will affect the way they bind and the force of that bond. The weaker the bond, the easier it is to melt and evaporate.
Mercury is greedy and doesn’t want to share its electrons, but sharing is caring in chemistry, so no one wants to be friends with Mercury, least of all another Mercury. All the mercuries stay away from each other, causing the social group to fall apart and melt.
Sometimes oxygen comes along and gets in an abusive relationship with mercury, stealing mercuries electrons while playing all buddy-buddy to mercurie’s face, but at least Mercury has some semblance of a social circle.
Latest Answers