Boiling mercury is often used in diffusion pumps to attain a...

Boiling mercury is often used in diffusion pumps to attain a very high vacuum; pressures down to $10^{-10}$ atm can be readily attained with such a system. Mercury vapor is very toxic to inhale, however. The normal boiling point of liquid mercury is $357^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$. What would be the vapor pressure of mercury at $25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$ ?

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Key Concepts

Vapor Pressure

Vapor pressure is the pressure exerted by a vapor when it is in equilibrium with its liquid (or solid) phase at a given temperature. It is a fundamental concept in thermodynamics and physical chemistry that governs phase transitions and is key to understanding how liquids evaporate and boil.

Boiling Point

The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which its vapor pressure equals the surrounding external pressure, causing the liquid to turn into a vapor. This concept is crucial for predicting under what conditions phase changes occur and for understanding properties of liquids under various pressures.

Clausius-Clapeyron Equation

The Clausius-Clapeyron equation provides a quantitative relationship between the vapor pressure of a substance and its temperature. It is used to estimate how the vapor pressure changes with temperature by relating the enthalpy of vaporization to the rate of change of vapor pressure, making it essential for evaluating conditions of vapor-liquid equilibrium.

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