Cinnabar

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see Cinnabar (disambiguation).
Cinnabar
Specific gravity
8.176
Optical propertiesUniaxial (+); very high relief
Refractive indexnω = 2.905 nε = 3.256
Birefringenceδ = 0.351
Solubility1.04×10−25 g/100 ml water
(Ksp at 25 °C = 2×10−32)[2]
References[3][4][5][6]

Cinnabar (

Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari)),[7] or cinnabarite (/ˌsɪnəˈbɑːraɪt/), also known as mercurblende is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the brilliant red or scarlet pigment termed vermilion
and associated red mercury pigments.

Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling

trigonal crystal system, crystals that sometimes exhibit twinning
.

Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the

Olmec culture, and in China since as early as the Yangshao culture, where it was used in coloring stoneware
.

Associated modern precautions for the use and handling of cinnabar arise from the

toxicity of the mercury component, which was recognized as early as ancient Rome
.

Etymology

The name comes from

lead tetroxide.[11]

Properties and structure

Properties

Cinnabar is generally found in a massive, granular, or earthy form and is bright scarlet to brick-red in color, though it occasionally occurs in crystals with a nonmetallic

specific gravity 8.1.[6]

Structure

Crystal structure of cinnabar: yellow = sulfur, grey = mercury, green = cell

Structurally, cinnabar belongs to the

trigonal crystal system.[6] It occurs as thick tabular or slender prismatic crystals or as granular to massive incrustations.[4] Crystal twinning occurs as simple contact twins.[5]

Mercury(II) sulfide, HgS, adopts the cinnabar structure described, and one additional structure, i.e. it is

zincblende structure.[5]

Occurrence

Cinnabar mercury ore from Nevada, United States

Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling

barite.[4]

Cinnabar is essentially found in all mineral extraction localities that yield mercury, notably

Western ghats in India where fine crystals have been obtained. It has been found in Dominica near its sulfur springs at the southern end of the island along the west coast.[23]

Cinnabar is still being deposited, such as from the hot waters of

Steamboat Springs, Nevada (United States).[25]

Cinnabar crystals of an individual size of one centimeter, on quartz. Almadén (Ciudad Real) Spain. Coll. Museum of the School of Mining Engineers of Madrid

Mining and extraction of mercury

Apparatus for the distillation of cinnabar, Alchimia, 1570

As the most common source of mercury in nature,

Neolithic Age.[27] During the Roman Empire it was mined both as a pigment,[28][29] and for its mercury content.[29]
: XLI 

To produce liquid mercury (quicksilver), crushed cinnabar ore is

rotary furnaces. Pure mercury separates from sulfur in this process and easily evaporates. A condensing column is used to collect the liquid metal, which is most often shipped in iron flasks.[30]

Toxicity

See also: Mercury poisoning

Associated modern precautions for use and handling of cinnabar arise from the toxicity of the mercury component, which was recognized as early as in ancient Rome.[31] Because of its mercury content, cinnabar can be toxic to human beings. Overexposure to mercury, mercury poisoning (mercurialism), was seen as an occupational disease to the ancient Romans. Though people in ancient South America often used cinnabar for art, or processed it into refined mercury (as a means to gild silver and gold to objects), the toxic properties of mercury were well known. It was dangerous to those who mined and processed cinnabar; it caused shaking, loss of sense, and death. Data suggests that mercury was retorted from cinnabar and the workers were exposed to the toxic mercury fumes.[32] "Mining in the Spanish cinnabar mines of Almadén, 225 km (140 mi) southwest of Madrid, was regarded as being akin to a death sentence due to the shortened life expectancy of the miners, who were slaves or convicts."[33]

Decorative use

Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the

oracle bones as early as the Zhou dynasty. Late in the Song dynasty it was used in coloring lacquerware.[citation needed
]

Cinnabar's use as a color in the New World, since the

royal burial chambers during the peak of Maya civilization, most dramatically in the 7th-century tomb of the Red Queen in Palenque, where the remains of a noble woman and objects belonging to her in her sarcophagus were completely covered with bright red powder made from cinnabar.[35]

The most popularly known use of cinnabar is in Chinese

carved lacquerware, a technique that apparently originated in the Song dynasty.[36] The danger of mercury poisoning may be reduced in ancient lacquerware by entraining the powdered pigment in lacquer,[37][page needed] but could still pose an environmental hazard if the pieces were accidentally destroyed. In the modern jewellery industry, the toxic pigment is replaced by a resin-based polymer that approximates the appearance of pigmented lacquer.[citation needed
]

Chinese carved cinnabar lacquerware, late Qing dynasty. Adilnor Collection, Sweden.

Two female mummies dated AD 1399 to 1475 found in Cerro Esmeralda in Chile in 1976 had clothes colored with cinnabar.[38]

Other forms

See also

References

  1. S2CID 235729616
    .
  2. ^ Myers, R. J. (1986). "The new low value for the second dissociation constant of H2S. Its history, its best value, and its impact on teaching sulfide equilibria". Journal of Chemical Education. 63: 689.
  3. ^ "Cinnabar". Mineralienatlas.
  4. ^ a b c "Cinnabar (HgS)" (PDF). rruff.geo.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  5. ^ a b c "Cinnabar: Cinnabar mineral information and data". Mindat. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  6. ^ a b c "Cinnabar Mineral Data". Webmineral. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  7. ^ a b c Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cinnabar" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 376.
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. "cinnabar". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  9. Perseus Project
    .
  10. Perseus Project
    .
  11. ^ Thompson, Daniel V. (1956). The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting. Chicago, IL: Dover (R. R. Donnelley-Courier). pp. 100–102.
  12. S2CID 247674748
    .
  13. ISBN 0-471-80580-7
    .
  14. ^ "Table of Refractive Indices and Double Refraction of Selected Gems - IGS". International Gem Society. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  15. ISBN 0-8069-9461-4.[page needed
    ]
  16. ISBN 0-19-855370-6.[page needed
    ]
  17. ISBN 978-1-9349-6952-6
    .
  18. ISBN 84-7821-543-3
    .
  19. ^ "Cinnabar. Spain". Mindat.
  20. ^ Santa Clara County Parks, Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/activities/cultural-venues/almaden-quicksilver-mining-museum#1849274314-3146410750
  21. ^ San Francisco Gate, "Tracking a toxic trail / Long-closed mine identified as largest source of mercury in San Francisco Bay" Dec 22, 2002 https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/tracking-a-toxic-trail-long-closed-mine-2709557.php Accessed Sept. 10, 2023
  22. doi:10.1016/S0169-1368(01)00026-9
    .
  23. doi:10.3390/min11010014
    .
  24. ^ "Cinnabar from Sulphur Bank Mine (Sulfur Bank Mine; Sulphur Bank deposits), Clear Lake Oaks, Sulphur Creek Mining District (Sulfur Creek Mining District; Wilbur Springs Mining District), Lake Co., California, USA". Mindat. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  25. ^ "Cinnabar from Steamboat Springs mine, Steamboat Springs Mining District, Washoe Co., Nevada, USA". Mindat. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  26. ^ "Natural Sources: Mercury". Environment Canada. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  27. S2CID 21900879
    .
  28. ^ Vitruvius. De architectura. Vol. VII. 4–5.[non-primary source needed]
  29. ^ a b Pliny. Natural History. Vol. XXXIII. 36–42.[non-primary source needed]
  30. ^ "Concentration of Isotopes of Mercury in Countercurrent Molecular Stills" (PDF). Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  31. ^
    ISBN 978-0-12-801634-3
    . Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  32. ^ Petersen, G. (2010). Mining and Metallurgy in Ancient Peru. Special Paper 467. Boulder, CO: The Geological Society of America. p. 29.
  33. ISBN 978-1-842-14537-1
    .
  34. ^ "New World's Oldest". Time. 1957-07-29. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008.
  35. S2CID 162282151
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  36. ISBN 978-0-7141-2446-9
    .
  37. ^ Dietrich, R. V. (2005). "Cinnabar". Gemrocks: Ornamental & Curio Stones. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.[page needed]
  38. ^ "Dressed to Kill: Chilean Mummies' Clothes Were Colored with Deadly Toxin". livescience.com. 27 July 2018.
  39. ^ "Hepatic Cinnabar: Hepatic Cinnabar mineral information and data". mindat.org.
  40. ^ Shepard, Charles Upham (1832). Treatise on Mineralogy. Hezekiah Howe. p. 132.
  41. ^ "Hypercinnabar: Hypercinnabar mineral information and data". Mindat.
  42. ^ "Metacinnabar: Metacinnabar mineral information and data". Mindat.
  43. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.[page needed
    ]

Further reading

External links

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