Mercury is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Hg and atomic number 80. Mercury is liquid at room temperature due to its unique electronic structure and intermolecular interaction.
First, the electronic structure of mercury has certain particularity. There are 80 electrons around the atomic nucleus of mercury, of which only one is the outermost electron, which makes mercury atoms have strong metal properties. In addition, the electron cloud structure of mercury is relatively stable, and the electron density is evenly distributed, which makes the interaction between mercury atoms stronger.
Secondly, the intermolecular force of mercury is mainly caused by van der Waals force. Van der Waals force is a kind of intermolecular attraction, which is caused by the non-uniformity of charge distribution between molecules. Because the electronic cloud structure of mercury molecules is relatively stable, the van der Waals force is strong, which makes mercury molecules attract each other and form a liquid.
In a word, the main reason why mercury is liquid is its unique electronic structure and the influence of intermolecular interaction.
