Does Mercury Have a Cohesive Force?

Mercury does not wet glass - the cohesive forces within the drops are stronger than the adhesive forces between the drops and glass. When liquid mercury is confined in a tube, its surface (meniscus) has a convex shape because the cohesive forces in liquid mercury tend to draw it into a drop.

Why is mercury cohesive?

As mercury is a metal, the bonds between the molecules are metal bonds that are much stronger than the hydrogen bonds leading to very high cohesive forces and high surface tension.

Why does mercury have strong cohesion and no adhesion?

When strong cohesion forces are in play, intermolecular forces (metallic bonding for mercury) help mercury resist seperation. To get to the point, surface tension is mercury is high due to metallic bonding, these bonds are WAY stronger then hydrogen bonds.