Cinnabar is a bright scarlet or blood red to a brick red colored mineral with a submetallic luster.
Common name:
Cinabrio
Common name:
Llimpi
Common name:
Merkurblende
Common name:
Zinnober
IUPAC name:
Mercury sulfide
Layman's explanation:
Cinnabar is the most abundant mercury mineral, occuring in veins formed at low temperatures near recent volcanic rocks or hot springs all over the world. Because it is the principal ore of mercury, many cinnabar mines exist in areas of abundance. Occasionally, native mercury is found alongside cinnabar as a heavy, tin-white liquid. The cinnabar crystals are translucent to transparent and scarlet to deep crimson in color. It is often identified in the field by its bright red color, softness, and unusual heaviness. Cinnabar has been known since antiquity; its name is derived from the Persian words for "dragon's blood."
Reciprocal Net site software 0.9.1-50,
copyright (c) 2002-2009, The Trustees of Indiana University
Files and data presented via this software are property of their
respective owners.
Reciprocal Net is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation as part of
the National Science Digital Library project.
