cinnabar (sĭn`əbär), mineral, the sulfide of mercury, HgS. Deep red in color, it is used as a pigment (see vermilion vermilion, vivid red pigment of durable quality. It is a chemical compound of mercury and sulfur and is known as red sulfide of mercury; it was formerly obtained by grinding pure cinnabar but is now commonly prepared synthetically.
..... Click the link for more information. ), but principally it is a source of the metal mercury. It is mined in Spain, Italy, and in the United States in California. The mercury is obtained from it by roasting, the sulfur combining with oxygen and passing off as sulfur dioxide.
Mercury sulfide (HgS), the chief ore mineral of mercury. It is commonly encountered with pyrite, marcasite, and stibnite in veins near recent volcanic rocks and in hot-springs deposits. It has been used as a bright orange-red pigment in stage makeup (now known to be toxic), painting, and Chinese lacquerwork.
cinnabar
..... Click the link for more information. ), but principally it is a source of the metal mercury. It is mined in Spain, Italy, and in the United States in California. The mercury is obtained from it by roasting, the sulfur combining with oxygen and passing off as sulfur dioxide.
cinnabar
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Cinnabar from Red Devil Mine, north of Homer, Alaska
(credit: Courtesy of the MacFall Collection; photograph, Mary A. Root)
cinnabar
1. a bright red or brownish-red mineral form of mercuric sulphide (mercury(II) sulphide), found close to areas of volcanic activity and hot springs. It is the main commercial source of mercury. Formula: HgS. Crystal structure: hexagonal
2. the red form of mercuric sulphide (mercury(II) sulphide), esp when used as a pigment
3. a bright red to reddish-orange; vermilion
4. a large red-and-black European moth, Callimorpha jacobaeae: family Arctiidae (tiger moths, etc.)
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