by 
zax-omega
ANSWERS: 2
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The Christians will tell you, "Because that's exactly the way Gawd wanted it." +5
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Mercury is a liquid at room temperature because the "relativistic contraction" of its atomic orbitals makes it behave chemically almost like a noble gas, not wanting to share electrons with other atoms, even other mercury atoms! Note that mercury is monatomic in the gas phase, just like a noble gas. Of course this should not be pushed too far; mercury is not a noble gas. There are enough outer-electron interactions for mercury to remain a liquid (radon, 22 amu heavier, is a gas), to conduct electricity, and to participate in ordinary chemical reactions. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1997-05/862179191.Ch.r.html Hope it helped! :]
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