what are its physical characteristics?
It  is a heavy, silvery-white liquid metal, it has a freezing point of −38.83 °C and a boiling point of 356.73 °C, upon freezing, the volume of mercury decreases by 3.59% and its density changes from 13.69 g/cm when liquid to 14.184 g/cm when solid, solid mercury is malleable and ductile and can be cut with a knife.
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a heavy, silvery-white liquid metal. Compared to other metals, it is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity.

It has a freezing point of −38.83 °C and a boiling point of 356.73 °C, both the lowest of any stable metal, although preliminary experiments on copernicium and flerovium have indicated that they have even lower boiling points (copernicium being the element below mercury in the periodic table, following the trend of decreasing boiling points down group 12). Upon freezing, the volume of mercury decreases by 3.59% and its density changes from 13.69 g/cm when liquid to 14.184 g/cm when solid. The coefficient of volume expansion is 181.59 × 10 at 0 °C, 181.71 × 10 at 20 °C and 182.50 × 10 at 100 °C (per °C). Solid mercury is malleable and ductile and can be cut with a knife.

mercury is good or bad conductor of heat Bad conductor of heat what is this bad conductor? It is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80
wiki:15307289
Mercury (element) [SEP] Physical properties
Mercury is a heavy, silvery-white liquid metal. Compared to other metals, it is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity. It has a freezing point of −38.83 °C and a boiling point of 356.73 °C, both the lowest of any stable metal, although preliminary experiments on copernicium and flerovium have indicated that they have even lower boiling points (copernicium being the element below mercury in the periodic table, following the trend of decreasing boiling points down group 12). Upon freezing, the volume of mercury decreases by 3.59% and its density changes from 13.69 g/cm when liquid to 14.184 g/cm when solid.