Aluminium and Mercury - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of aluminium and mercury, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Aluminium vs Mercury.

aluminium and mercury - comparison

Compare aluminium with another element

Compare mercury with another element

Aluminium and Mercury – About Elements

Aluminium

Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic, ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth’s crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below.

Mercury

Mercury is commonly known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum. Mercury is a heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is liquid at standard conditions for temperature and pressure.

Aluminium in Periodic Table

Mercury in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Aluminium and Mercury – Applications

Aluminium

Aluminium and its alloys are used widely in aerospace, automotive, architectural, lithographic, packaging, electrical and electronic applications. It is the prime material of construction for the aircraft industry throughout most of its history. About 70% of commercial civil aircraft airframes are made from aluminium alloys, and without aluminium civil aviation would not be economically viable. Automotive industry now includes aluminium as engine castings, wheels, radiators and increasingly as body parts. 6111 aluminium and 2008 aluminium alloy are extensively used for external automotive body panels. Cylinder blocks and crankcases are often cast made of aluminium alloys.

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.

Aluminium and Mercury – Comparison in Table

Element	Aluminium	Mercury
Density	2.7 g/cm3	13.534 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	90 MPa (pure), 600 MPa (alloys)	N/A
Yield Strength	11 MPa (pure), 400 MPa (alloys)	N/A
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	70 GPa	N/A
Mohs Scale	2.8	N/A
Brinell Hardness	240 MPa	N/A
Vickers Hardness	167 MPa	N/A
Melting Point	660 °C	-38.9 °C
Boiling Point	2467 °C	357 °C
Thermal Conductivity	237 W/mK	8.3 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	23.1 µm/mK	60.4 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.9 J/g K	0.139 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	10.79 kJ/mol	2.295 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	293.4 kJ/mol	59.229 kJ/mol