"The Freezing of Mercury: Until the middle of the eighteenth century, chemists believed that fluidity was an essential property of mercury. During a blizzard on the twenty-fifth of December, 1759, A. Braune (or Braun) and M. V. Lomonosov of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg thought it would be interesting to see how much farther the temperature could be lowered by artificial means. In the presence of several fellow members of the Academy, they packed a mercury thermometer in a mixture of nitric acid and snow. The mercury fell rapidly and solidified."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
In Poissonnier, "Versuche iiber frierende Quecksilber," Crell's Neues chem and Archiv, 8, 176-7 (1791); Hist. Acad. Roy. des Sciences (Paris), 1760, quoted in: p. 49.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Mercury (element)
42 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Mercury (element) →
Related Quotes
"The factitious cinnabar is from the country a little above Ephesus; it is but in small quantities, and is had only fr…"
"Many do not even know that mercury comes out of cinnabar (tan sha). When told, they still refuse to believe it, sayin…"
"Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Hindus, and has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 1500 or 1600…"
"Theophrastus, a disciple of Plato and successor to Aristotle, described quicksilver as a useful substance "obtained f…"
"One Callius, an Athenian, who belonged to the silver mines, invented and taught the making of this artificial Cinnaba…"
"In the first century A.D., Dioscorides Pedanios of Anazarbus, Cilicia, gave the following process for preparing metal…"
"It is a fluid but does not moisten, and runs about, though it has no feet."
"As Hermes Psychopompos, he also serves as a guide of souls into the underworld. Under his Roman name of Mercury, Herm…"
"Quicksilver is a useful thing for many purposes. For instance, neither silver nor copper can be gilded properly witho…"
"Natural cinnabar consists of much mercury and some sulfur and earth; these three together make a hard body, a very be…"