That Liquid Metal

Mercury is ordinarily a liquid because its atoms bond only weakly with each other. But what made this liquid so interesting to alchemists like Mary Hebrea, history’s real Miriam bat Isaac, was also its shiny appearance. And so, they called it “quicksilver.”

Inhaling its vapors, however, allows its toxin to enter the bloodstream and lungs. Exposure can then cause severe neurological and kidney damage. Accordingly, the use of mercury has been phased out in modern items like thermometers, switches, and medicines.

In Miriam bat Isaac’s time, first century CE, alchemists were beginning to identify the toxic effects of mercury. In The Deadliest Lie, Miriam recognizes them in her friend Judah’s father:

Judah’s words, thick with sadness, sounded as if they’d passed through a long dry tube. “My biggest concern is his tremors. His hands shake and his face twitches, mostly at the corners of his mouth. The twitching has gotten worse, extending now to his eyelids, lips, and tongue. He can’t even feed himself. He can’t hold a spoon, and as if that weren’t bad enough, his mouth is so full of sores his teeth are falling out.”

That’s when Miriam knew his father was teetering between life and death, that he was suffering as well from a chronic form of mercury poisoning, that he could die in the throes of delirium.

The Deadliest Lie is a story about the struggles of early scientists, but it is also a love story that immerses you in first century CE Roman Alexandria, and a maddening search for a set of high-stakes alchemical scrolls. To learn more, click here.