This is because Hg is an abbreviation of the Latin name of the element, which was hydrargium. With this name the Greeks were referring to the fact that mercury is a silvery liquid at room temperature, rather than a solid like other metals.
We've looked at the three types of heat transfer. Conduction and convection rely on temperature differences; radiation does, too, but with radiation the absolute temperature is important.
A: The three ways that heat can be transferred are conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction is most efficient in solids, convection occurs in liquids and gases and radiation occurs through anything that allows radiation to pass through.