The reason why liquid silver mercury (mercury) remains liquid at room temperature is mainly related to its electronic configuration and the characteristics of metal bonds. Mercury has an atomic number of 80 and its extranuclear electron configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2, which means that the outermost electron of mercury is in the 6s orbital, and this orbital is full, very stable, and unwilling to share with other atoms. Therefore, the metal bonds between mercury atoms are weak and cannot form a tight lattice structure, resulting in mercury being liquid at room temperature.
In addition, the physical properties of mercury also have an important influence on its liquid state. Mercury is a dense, silvery-white liquid transition metal that evaporates at room temperature and has good electrical and thermal conductivity. These properties make mercury perform well in applications such as thermometers.