Chapter 8, Problem 8.58QP

Plasma is a state of matter consisting of positive gaseous ions and electrons. In the plasma state, a mercury atom could be stripped of its 80 electrons and therefore would exist as Hg⁸⁰⁺. Use the equation in Problem 8.57 to calculate the energy required for the last ionization step, that is,

${\text{Hg}}^{79+}(g)\stackrel{}{\to }{\text{Hg}}^{80+}(g)+e^{-}$