This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of mercury and lead, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Mercury vs Lead.
Mercury and Lead – About Elements
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Mercury and Lead – Applications
Mercury
Mercury is used primarily for the manufacture of industrial chemicals or for electrical and electronic applications. However, because of its toxicity, many uses of mercury are being phased out or are under review. It is used in some thermometers, especially ones which are used to measure high temperatures. Mercury easily forms alloys, called amalgams, with other metals such as gold, silver and tin. The ease with which it amalgamates with gold made it useful in recovering gold from its ores. Mercury amalgams were also used in dental fillings. Gaseous mercury is used in mercury-vapor lamps and some “neon sign” type advertising signs and fluorescent lamps.
Lead
Lead metal has several useful mechanical properties, including high density, low melting point, ductility, and relative inertness. Lead is widely used for car batteries, pigments, ammunition, cable sheathing, weights for lifting, weight belts for diving, lead crystal glass, radiation protection and in some solders. The largest use of lead in the early 21st century is in lead–acid batteries. The lead in batteries undergoes no direct contact with humans, so there are fewer toxicity concerns. Lead is used in high voltage power cables as sheathing material to prevent water diffusion into insulation; this use is decreasing as lead is being phased out. A lead is widely used as a gamma shield. Major advantage of lead shield is in its compactness due to its higher density. On the other hand depleted uranium is much more effective due to its higher Z. Depleted uranium is used for shielding in portable gamma ray sources.
Mercury and Lead – Comparison in Table
| Element | Mercury | Lead |
| Density | 13.534 g/cm3 | 11.34 g/cm3 |
| Ultimate Tensile Strength | N/A | 17 MPa |
| Yield Strength | N/A | 5.5 MPa |
| Young’s Modulus of Elasticity | N/A | 16 GPa |
| Mohs Scale | N/A | 1.5 |
| Brinell Hardness | N/A | 38 MPa |
| Vickers Hardness | N/A | N/A |
| Melting Point | -38.9 °C | 327.5 °C |
| Boiling Point | 357 °C | 1740 °C |
| Thermal Conductivity | 8.3 W/mK | 35 W/mK |
| Thermal Expansion Coefficient | 60.4 µm/mK | 28.9 µm/mK |
| Specific Heat | 0.139 J/g K | 0.13 J/g K |
| Heat of Fusion | 2.295 kJ/mol | 4.799 kJ/mol |
| Heat of Vaporization | 59.229 kJ/mol | 177.7 kJ/mol |