What is the difference between mercury and methylmercury?
Mercury is a metal that has several forms. Most commonly, people recognize mercury as the shiny, silver-white fluid in thermometers. Methylmercury is the kind of mercury that gets into fish. In water, the inorganic form of mercury is converted to methylmercury by bacteria or chemical reactions. Methylmercury is produced when a carbon with three hydrogen molecules attached to it (called a methyl group) is united with the element mercury.
