system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How does mercury polish silver?

ive seen it , but i want to know!
gpt
Two processes: Mercury dissolves the outer layer of silver in amalgamation, as another poster stated. Also, mercury directly reacts with silver sulfide (the main component of tarnish) to form cinnabar (HgS) and metallic silver, so it directly attacks the tarnish as well.