Cinnabar (HgS) is roasted in air at ~600 °C: HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2; Hg vapor is condensed in water-cooled tubes. Most modern supply is recycled from switches, dental amalgam and by-product streams.
Research Elements Hg · atomic number 80 Transition metal · period 6, group 12 [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 Shells: 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 2 Valence electrons: 2 in the outer shell (6s2), and 10 in 5d10 Green dots are the outer shell's s and p electrons. Softer green dots are the d electrons of transition metals, and the d and f electrons of lanthanides and actinides: they often take part in bonding, but not always. Grey dots are the core. Ground-state configuration from the NIST Atomic Spectra Database (A. Kramida, Yu. Ralchenko, J. Reader and the NIST ASD Team). Abundance is the mole fraction of the element found as that isotope on Earth; digits in parentheses are the uncertainty in the last digits. Masses and abundances from NIST, Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions (J. S. Coursey, D. J. Schwab, J. J. Tsai and R. A. Dragoset, National Institute of Standards and Technology).Mercury
Electrons
How it's obtained
Natural isotopes
Isotope Relative atomic mass Abundance 196Hg 195.9658326(32) 0.0015(1) 198Hg 197.96676860(52) 0.0997(20) 199Hg 198.96828064(46) 0.1687(22) 200Hg 199.96832659(47) 0.2310(19) 201Hg 200.97030284(69) 0.1318(9) 202Hg 201.97064340(69) 0.2986(26) 204Hg 203.97349398(53) 0.0687(15)