Cinnabar

Formulas of different polymorphic from mercury sulfide

α-HgS cinnabar/vermilion

α'-HgS amorphous sulfide of mercury

β-HgS métacinabre

γ-HgS hypercinabre

Physical properties

The following formula gives an approximation of the Steam pressure saturating with cinnabar:

ln P * = 8,765 - 3533/ T

P * being expressed in kPa and the Temperature T in Kelvin.

Sulfide HgS the mercury is the most important mercury ore. It is insoluble in water and the diluted acids. It is used for manufacture of mercury and like pigment. Cinnabar thus contains approximately mercury 86,2%. One obtains mercury by netting of cinnabar. For the extraction of metal, the pulverulent ore goes down in a furnace to 700°C where air is sent. The following reaction occurs:

HgS+O2→Hg+SO2,

beyond 737°C, cinnabar breaks up into

HgS → Hg+ S.

Mercury is obtained by pyrometallurgy: with atmospheric pressure, cinnabar is sublimated with 583 °C (856 K) and breaks up into liquid mercury and vapor of Soufre.

Three crystalline forms are distinguished:

red trigonal cinnabar, Group of space P 3₁21 or P 3₂21 (n°154), B9 structure in Notation Strukturbericht, more stable at temperatures of less 350°C (Barnett and Al, 2001, p. 1499.) and
the cubic Métacinabre, Group of space $F \ bar43m$ , black color)

also Let us announce the Hypercinabre (γ-HgS), highlighted by Potter and Barnes in 1978. Its name is related to the fact that its zone of stability extends at temperatures higher than those of cinnabar and métacinabre.

Chemical properties

The chemical properties of black sulfide and red mercury sulfide are appreciably the same ones, however, the black sulfide reacts more than the red. Cinnabar, vermilion or métacinabre are generally regarded as almost insoluble in water, solvents organic and the diluted mineral acids.

Toxicology

The free presence of mercury in the cinnabar ore confers an undeniable toxicity to him. Pline the Old one considers that this substance is a poison and declares adventurous all that one reports on his use in medicine, it specifies that one must prevent that it penetrates in the internal organs or touches a wound (PLINE, HN, XXXIII; 42).

In measurement or cinnabar is pulverulent or is presented in the form of powder, of strict measurements of protection are highly recommended.

Nature and origin

Cinnabar, in its native form is the most abundant variety of mercury sulfide and is in various grounds: primary educations, secondaries, tertiary sectors. It can be concentrated in more or less thick seams, as in Almaden in Spain or dispersed in layers known as “metal” as in Idrija (Slovenia). It is more abundant in the sedimentary rocks than in the igneous rocks. The deposits are usually with less than 300 meters of depth. It often contains in its native form of inclusions of antimony, arsenic, bitumen, selenium, sulfide of iron, lead, barium or calcium sulfate or zinc, and it contains free mercury (Biester and Al, 1999, p. 195-197.).

Uses

The color of cinnabar is intense, even reduced out of powder; one thus used it like dye red vermilion.

The color of cinnabar varies grooves with the scarlet red while passing by the Rouge brick, which explains why cinnabar was historically used like Pigment, mainly in the Peinture, but also like food Colorant traditional. As it made it possible to obtain the color crimson, imperial color par excellence, cinnabar was very important in the Byzantine Empire, where it made it possible to authenticate the acts of the imperial chancellery to ink crimson.

Cinnabar known and is used since highest antiquity in medicine, to see Pline (Pline, HN, XXXIII; 41). This last besides disadvised and regarded this substance as a poison.

It was also used in medicine, for the treatment of the Syphilis, or it was prescribed, in the years 1820, with the expectant mothers, by fumigation (general Files of medicine, Imp. De Vaugirard, 1914, p436.). In the form of pomade, it was used against the cutaneous diseases (Louis Mialhe, Traité art to formulate , ED. Fort, Masson, 1845, p150.). One finds also cinnabar in the composition of remedies for the external treatment of cancer, like the paste known as of the brother Like, composed of white Arsenic, of burned ashes of soles of shoes, blood dragon, cinnabar and water (Hermann Lebert, practical Traité of the cancerous diseases and the curable affections confused with cancer , ED. Baillière, 1851, p645.)

One always uses cinnabar in homeopatic medicine.

Use as drug

Cinnabar became known since unmemorable times in Asia like a drug.

The life, in old times, was hard and the elderly unable to achieve their work were regarded as parasites and were exiled as ascetics in the forests. The first need for the Ascète was to find substances which could return it more extremely physically. For that, they selected Drogues on the principle of: the life makes the life.

The Chinese ascetics recognized in the Jade a stone which could not tarnish. They also consumed the quartz and other minerals which, insoluble, were supposed to return the body of that which consumed them hard like stone. After crushing, they were orally taken in the hope to strengthen the body.

Later jade became the drug of longevity and even of resurrection. In the same order of idea, another theory regarding the Blood as the heart and its color like the active ingredient or the concentrate the heart, the red substances were regarded as rich person in vital concentrate and could give to that which consumed of the parts of the active ingredient of the life.

To consume the Ocher red, according to these beliefs made it possible to replace heavy bleeding and to support a long life. Cinnabar having the exact color of blood was of this fact considered as superior with the Minium.

In China, the ascetics were fanatics of the supposed substances to give longevity and it was the reason for which they used successively the Jade, the Or and cinnabar. It is certain that cinnabar one of the most important substances was regarded as donneuse of life. One can conclude from it that two principal substances were seen like factors of longevity by former Chinese and were consumed like drugs; gold to preserve the body and cinnabar to prolong the life. This is why were selected they to manufacture a super drug of longevity.

Towards 500 before Christ, gold and cinnabar are heated together to create a Amalgame. Cinnabar then delivered mercury while breaking up with heat. There were not other options only to create it “red-but” in another manner. The experiments with cinnabar made it possible to discover the technique of sublimation. It was established that cinnabar consisted of Soufre and of mercury. Then, sulfur, mercury and gold prone to sublimation gave the necessary product. “But-cinnabar” was a sublimable product. It was supposed to lead to the Immortalité for the Chinese.

This substance is always manufactured in India nowadays and is called Makaradhvaja. Even Newton prepared cinnabar and used orally it to acquire more virility. Spargo and Pounds found that the hair of Newton presented mercury and antimony, lead concentrations unusually high.

Summary summary translated from English, for the original to consult S. Mahdhihassan, 1987.

Mythology

The taoists used cinnabar like a drug in order to reach in a happy state. It was recognized like the most powerful natural substance to obtain immortality or, at least, to prolong the life and youth. One could even obtain it starting from the Soufre, of salpetre and mercury. In the Chinese mystical theory of the IQ , the “field of cinnabar” (dantian) is a point located in the stomach and where concentrates vital energy.

Some alchemists affirmed that it was possible to transform it into Or but all the experiments which were tried failed.

History

Cinnabar is known as of the Préhistoire. 4500 years ago, the Chinese and the Egyptians knew already mercury and its ore, cinnabar. The Chinese used cinnabar 3600 years ago like pigment for the potteries or ink. They would have been the first, to have manufactured the Vermillon, at the beginning of our era. In Egypt of the Ptolémées (S, appears the practice of the cremation. On certain fragments of burned bones, one finds a color red, the dye is cinnabar intentionally deposited. Towards 300 av., Théophraste, philosopher and Greek scientist, evokes the mercury mines of Almadén in Spain. One used in Antiquity cinnabar as a pigment which was generally reserved for the elite. Thus, Rome makes of it a state monopoly and a law into fixed the selling price. Pline makes of it mention under the name of Minium in books XXXIII and XXXV of its Natural history. Vitruve ( Of Structured , VII), with, described the use of cinnabar in painting. Zosime of Panapolis, scientist and Alchemist Greek, born in Egypt, would have, at the 3rd century of our era, mentioned that cinnabar was composed of mercury and sulfur. The alchemist Geber or Jabir Ibn Hayyan, born in Iran in 721, explains that mercury and sulfur, can, with heat to combine out of cinnabar. With the Middle Ages, in the East, the most important documents were signed with an ink containing cinnabar (in Byzance, the emperor alone could employ it) while in Occident (certain sources evoke the 13th century, others it) certain illuminations were carried out using an ink containing cinnabar and of Sanguine. The artists of the time took care to isolate this too reactive substance with the other pigments using varnished and to protect it from the solar rays while posing over glacis (garance). Curiously, various medieval receipts often evoke the addition of Cérumen. The Theophilus monk, to the 12th century, explains that the mixture with equal mercury and sulfur shares was laid out in a container out of glass closed with clay which was heated until the formation of the pigment. Cennino Cennini, towards 1390, in its Book of art , also mentions this pigment. In 1527, Paracelse prescribes mercury and its oxide like drug in ointments like remedy of syphilis.

similar terms: Cinnabarite, Sulfide of mercury, Vermilion

Identification

The color of the trace of the Minéraux can also be used for the summary identification of the Pigments. It is a question of realizing on a porcelain shelf lasts a trace of mineral by friction and of observing the color of it. Many minerals have a colorless trace, some have characteristic traces of colors. Here an example: The pink traces with red-brown can indicate the presence of cinnabar, cuprite or of hematite. The mercury in minor amounts can be detected by the Spectrométrie or thanks to the Hg precipitates ² Cl ² and HgS. It is considered that so compounds of mercury are heated in a tube with Soude, it there with the formation of a gray mercury mirror which condenses on the cold walls.

The spectrometric methods allow the identification of cinnabar. It is useful to mention the spectroscopy Raman, an optical method, which analyze without contact the stones (semi) invaluable, the pigments, glasses and ceramics. This method does not require sampling. And thanks to their laser source built-in, the last generations of spectrometers are transportable in the middle of the museums. The identification of the objects can be made “ in-situ ”. Moreover, this molecular identification makes it possible to differentiate without ambiguity from the close compounds, of the same elementary composition.

To identify the crystalline structure, the Pixe method, (Particle Induced X-ray Emission), différience makes it possible the hexagonal and cubic form.

Chromatic deterioration

The darkening or the blackening of cinnabar (α-HgS) constitutes important problems of conservation of the murals since antiquity, and always represents a break-in head subject with polemics. Vitruve ( Of Structured , VII) explains why: “When it is employed in the apartments whose coatings are with cover, cinnabar preserves its color without deterioration; but in the places exposed to the air, like the peristyles, exèdres, and some other similar places where can penetrate the rays of the sun and the glare of the moon, it deteriorates, it loses the promptness of its color, it is blackened at once that it is struck by it”. This last mentions that punic wax would have been applied to the murals to prevent that the light of the moon and the rays of the sun, do not remove the color from it.

Currently, blackening the frescos of the villa of the Mysteries with Pompéi is the perfect illustration. Cleaning with the laser of murals containing of cinnabar is disadvised because of the chromatic deterioration which results from it.

The scarlet color of cinnabar (α-HgS), under the influence of the solar irradiation, deteriorates until becoming gray-black. Certain associated factors accelerate this chromatic change, like a strong moisture associated with an atmosphere strongly polluted. Only surface is degraded, if it is scraped, one can see the red color again. This degradation specific to red cinnabar can also allow its identification.

According to J.K. McCormac, cinnabar (hexagonal HgS) photosensitive and is blackened after exposure to the light. This deterioration can be charged to physical and chemical mechanisms. The Photosensibilité of cinnabar can be associated with the Chlore and the Halogène S.

Lexicology and terminology

China: dsü, tchu-cha, yn-tchou, theout-cabbage, tan, tancha, hong

India: Rasagarbha, rasasthana

Persian: Sinkarf or kinbar

Arabia: zingefr or kynjar

Greek old: kinnabari

Latin: cinabrum, stupium, minium

Nowadays, one finds names following:

red sulfide of mercury
mercury sulphurizes red
sulfide mercuric
cinnabar
vermilion
Chinese vermilion.

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