Solved cryptogram
Mercury is liquid at room temperature, and dense enough that a lump of lead will float on it.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
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What it means
Lead is heavy by everyday standards and mercury is heavier still, so a lead weight dropped into a bowl of mercury bobs on the surface like a cork in water. The reason mercury is liquid at all is a relativistic effect: its electrons move fast enough that the outer shell contracts and the atoms bond to each other very weakly.
The claim comes from Royal Society of Chemistry.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length74 letters, 20 unique
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