Xenon

Xenon (zee-non) is a very rare Noble Gas, and is most well known for the fact that it discharges very bright clean white light. Because of this it is most commonly used in strobe lights or flash bulbs.

Xenon's atomic name is Xe (Which is a reason I really like it, it has one of the most awesome names) atomic number is 54, and most common isotope is Xe-132 with 78 neutrons, however every isotope from Xe-124 to Xe-136 (With the exclusion of isotope 125, 127, 133, 135 which are synthetic and short-lived) is found naturally.

Being a noble gas there are almost no naturally occurring compounds, and is most commonly obtained from air, which contains a minute percentage of it. It is very unusual, an interesting fact is that on average there's less Xenon in air than there is Gold in sea water.

It is quite heavy for a gas, a balloon filled with Xenon will fall to the ground faster than a solid low-density styrofoam ball.

As mentioned above, it's most common uses are in strobe lamps, which are gas-discharge lights similar to Neon signs. Similar to Neon displaying a red color, Xenon displays a bright pure white, so is used in camera flashes or for high-power projector or spot light bulbs. All of my samples are in the form of lamps mentioned above.

These are my samples, all are (loosely speaking) light bulbs.

Top right sample: This is the Xenon flash bulb from your typical camera flash, easily found in disposable cameras for about $6. Normally I wouldn't take it off of the circuit board, because the circuit board can be used to light it up, but in this case it was from and older camera flash that no longer worked.

Bottom sample: This is a much larger flash bulb, probably used in a strobe light. I was very lucky to pick up 3 of these basically for free at a special flea market in Boston. They are basically exactly the same as the smaller one, just a different shape. You might also notice the third wire in the middle, this is a "trigger" wire, because it is very hard to get and arc to start in the Xenon, a high voltage (but low amps) charge is applied to the middle and one of the edges, this "starts" the arc, which than continues from a larger more powerful capacitor(This all happens in a fraction of a second) They make some bulbs even larger than these for airport lights and such.

Top left sample: This is a very rare lamp, given to me by my dad. It is in fact a projector bulb filled with Xenon, and it is unusual because it does not "flash", it actually stays lit up, which is difficult because the Xenon tends to get very hot quite fast. I am very lucky to have one of these, most are used by movie theaters and are returned to the company that makes them for "repairs". Quite difficult to get your hands on, and expensive to get new. This one may not work, I have no power supply to test it.

This concludes my post on Xenon, my favorite noble gas. Thanks for reading!

~Ben

Platinum

Platinum is a dull silver metal, most well known for it's resistance to corrosion. It is known as a "Noble metal", similar to the Noble Gases, because it does not react much with anything.

Atomic name is Pt, atomic number is 78 (Right before Gold, which is similar in many respects) and atomic weight is 195. It's electron configuration is 2, 8, 18, 32, 17, 1.

Platinum is most times used for it's resistance to corrosion, and has long been used for jewelry and certain scientific components that require something that will not corrode or rust away after much use. Fuel cells, which mix Hydrogen and Oxygen into water and create electricity as a byproduct, are known to be expensive because the metal that touches these two gases must not corrode in the presents of pure oxygen, so most times, is Platinum.

Some very old light bulbs used Platinum wire to seal through glass, because it bonded well to glass and expanded the same amount as the glass, but this method isn't used due to the price of Platinum. As I write this the price of one ounce(an ounce is about the weight of 6 US nickel coins) of Platinum is over $1,500 , higher than the price of Gold per ounce which is currently just below $1,200.

This is my Platinum sample. The wire is actually Platinum-plated Nickel, as this much pure platinum might cost over $50. These two wires, if un-coiled, are about 6 inches long, and the whole foot of Platinum-plated Nickel wire cost me about $10. I used these in a fuel cell project, because as mentioned above, Platinum works far better than most other metals in this application. There is probably less than 2 mg (milligrams, 1/1000th of a gram, a US nickel weighs 5 grams) of platinum in this whole picture, but hey, I can say I own a few million atoms of it.

Thanks,

~Ben

News: I got a Geiger Counter in the mail today, which is a device to sense radioactivity. It is a kit, and I can't assemble it without a bit of help, but once I get it going I'll do a post on radioactive Thorium.

Aluminum

Aluminum is a very common metal, and has a light dull grey color. It is fairly easy to melt and cast, and scrap is easily available in many forms.

Atomic name is Al, number is 13, weight is 26.981, and it sits in the "poor metal" section of the periodic table. Most common Isotope is Aluminum-27 with 14 neutrons, but traces of Aluminum-26 have been found and are very slightly radioactive.

Aluminum is one of my favorite metals, as it doesn't easily corrode due to a protective oxide layer which forms quite fast, but doesn't flake off like rust on Iron, keeping the Aluminum under the surface safe from corrosion. It's melting point is only 1220 F, which can easily be made by a wood or charcoal fire if you keep good airflow.

Aluminum is generally very common construction material, being fairly cheap, far lighter than steel, but still good strength. It's used in many airplanes or helicopters for these traits. It is also an extremely good electrical conductor, 2/3rds as good as copper, but 1/3rd as heavy, making one of it's most common uses electrical power lines.

Almost all structural Aluminum is alloyed with small amounts of most commonly Copper and Zinc, to make it less prone to cracking. The most common alloy is known as "6061" Aluminum, and can have up to 1% of Silicon, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Magnesium, Chromium, Zinc, and Titanium, but most times contains less than 5% other metals.

Here are my samples

Sample 1: These are all items I cast myself, from right to left: A water-cast blob, made by pouring liquid metal in water, a "medallion", made just for the fun of it, and the result of pouring aluminum into a hole in loose soil. The large lump is what I had left over, so I poured it all into a cooking pan.

Sample 2: This is a small heat sink from something electronic. Aluminum conducts heat very well, similar to electricity, so by putting aluminum vanes on a hot object, the heat is carried out the vanes and dissipated into the air. Used quite commonly in computers, because the processor chips get hot.

Sample 3: This is an aluminum plate, I don't know what it was for, but my dad got a pile of them as scrap from a former job (Same job as the copper slab)
Sample 4: One of the easiest samples, Aluminum foil (Sometimes called Tin foil, but it's been made out of aluminum for quite some time now)

Sample 5: Soda can, another easy one to get, however it doesn't really show what the surface of aluminum looks like, because there's a label on the outside and a thin plastic coating on the inside.

This is another sample of Aluminum, a good example of structural aluminum, a 30 foot antenna tower my dad owns. My dad has lots of interesting stuff, doesn't he?

All in all, Aluminum is quite a useful metal, and not hard to get a sample of. I have many more samples than this, some are quite large though, so I left them out.

Thanks again for reading!

~Ben

Coming soon: Lead, Thorium, Radium.

Americium

NOTE: Americium is a radioactive element. Please do not "play" with radioactivity unless you are very well informed to what you are dealing with, and always keep in mind there is ALWAYS some risk.

Americium (am-er-ee-see-um) is a fairly normal looking silver-grey metal, I have no experience working with it as the only piece I can get is a tiny piece of foil, and melting or sanding would prove quite hazardous. The name, oddly, came from a former element named Europium after the continent of Europe, the discoverer decided it worthy to name it after the Americas because of this.

Americium's atomic symbol is Am, number is 95, and the most common isotope is Am-241, having 146 neutrons, and a half life of about 450 years. It appears in the Actinoid section of the periodic table, directly after Plutonium, which is quite a dangerous bomb-making element.

Being an Actinoid metal (Most of which are radioactive or synthetic), it is quite unusual, and I believe completely synthetic, meaning never occurs in nature. It is rare in the fact that it is very commonly used in nearly every house in America, crimped into a steel bead, in all common smoke detectors.

For safety sake, I'm not going to tell you specifically how to get it out, but I will say the entire smoke detector I used was only $4.50, so it must not be to expensive to make today.

Americium emits Alpha particles and low energy Gamma rays(See Radioactivity), Alpha particles are quite weak and can't penetrate even a thin piece of paper, and the Gamma rays are so low power that they do no harm for only short term exposure. Smoke detectors have shielding which makes them completely safe, but if you somehow got a piece of this inside you (In the form of sanding dust, which is why I never sand or grind my radioactive samples) it would probably do some damage just because the exposure time could be your whole life if it got stuck in your system.

I don't know the process for manufacturing Americium, and I don't know of any uses besides smoke detectors, or general "check sources" (set radiation levels for testing or calibrating radioactivity sensing devices). I have seen it used in a nifty device called a Spinthariscope, which shows radioactive decay by using any radiation source (Commonly Americium) and a chemical or compound that lights up in contact with radiation, releasing small flashes of green light whenever an Alpha particle hits it.

This is my Americium, crimped into a steel bead. It's hard to see, but there is a slight indent in the top of the steel bead, at the bottom of this indent is a very tiny piece of Americium foil, held firmly in place by steel that has been crimped around the edges. I wouldn't try to remove it from this steel bead, as it is safely stored, and fine for any experiments I might want to do with it. I might get a better picture if I have time.

Thanks for reading!

~Ben

Neon

Neon is a colorless, odorless gas that is very well known for it's bright orange luminescence. All of my samples are in unusual light bulbs.

Neon is a Noble Gas that's atomic symbol is Ne, and atomic number is 10. It's most common Isotope is Neon-20 (abbreviated Ne20), which has 10 Protons and 10 Neutrons, however there are small percentages of Ne21 and Ne22. The electron configuration of the Neon atom is simply 2, 8.

Being a Noble Gas, Neon is very non-reactive, due to the fact that all of the Noble Gases have a "comfortable" number of electrons, and almost never require any or have any extra. This makes there not many uses for Neon, because there are no natural compounds, Neon only ever occurs in it's pure form. Some scientists have managed to make very basic compounds with other Noble Gases, but not for Neon.

The most well known, and I believe most common use for Neon gas is in lighting, as low-pressure Neon will glow bright orange when high voltage is applied. You've probably seen Neon signs, although not all Neon signs have Neon gas, only a redish-orange color (Which you might've noticed is one of the most common colors in Neon signs) Neon signs consist of long tubes full of low-pressure Neon, with an electrode(Metal bar connected to a wire that goes through the glass) at either end. When high voltage is applied to the electrodes, electrons arc through the Neon gas from one electrode to the other, which Ionizes the Neon atoms causing them to release light.

This "Arc" is similar to a spark you might get from scuffing on carpet with socks on, but since the Neon is under a vacuum (very low pressure), the arc gets more "fuzzy" and not such a sharp streak of light as seen in normal air, which makes it a more pleasing light source. The vacuum also lowers the voltage required to make the Neon ionize.

Neon is not the only gas that lights up like this, almost any gas under a vacuum will light up similar to Neon. Normal air under a vacuum (Which is 78% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, and small percentages of others) will light up a blue-purple color, but Neon is much brighter, which is why it's more commonly used.

An interesting note about Neon, and most of the Noble Gases, is that since they do not form compounds, they are most commonly found in very small percentages in normal Air. The process to purify Neon from the air is to cool the air down so cold, that the gases in it start to turn to liquids(Every element will go from solid to liquid to gas as you heat it up, since Neon is naturally a gas, cooling it puts it back to liquid stage, similar to cooling steam to get water). Since every gas turns to liquid at a different temperature, they simply cool it down slowly, and sort out the different gases as they liquify. This process can yield Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, Neon, Argon, and a number of other gases, in very pure form.

Here are some Neon bulbs I managed to photograph:

This is an old bulb manufactured by General Electric, it is the same shape and size as a regular light bulb and even screws into a regular socket, but instead of a thin Tungsten filament, it has two Electrodes (The two half circles) and is filled with low pressure Neon. The high voltage from normal house wiring is enough to make it arc through the Neon, causing the familiar orange glow like in Neon signs. These bulbs are quite rare today, and I'm lucky to have access to them.

This is a small Neon "indicator" bulb, it's barely 1/4 inch in diameter. It's called an indicator bulb because it was used in houses to indicate things in the dark, and it's Neon because there was too high voltage for normal light bulbs. Illuminated light switches very commonly have a bulb exactly like these in them, you can tell if it's Neon if it's orange (Like below) and if it seems to flicker slightly.

It's not turned on as you can see, but you can clearly see the two electrodes inside the bulb. They are not touching, because when the light is turned on, electrons must arc through Neon gas (contained in the bulb) to complete the circuit, and this arc causes the Neon to light up. See below for it turned on!

These two bulbs are indicator bulbs like above, and are also very small, about the size of a bulb from those strings of Christmas lights. Only the orange one is Neon, and you can see, it has the same kind of electrodes inside as above. The glass bulb is once again filled with low pressure Neon gas. Since DC (Direct current) electricity is being used, only one of the electrodes lights up.

The blue bulb is actually very similar inside, but it has a different gas mixture which creates Ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the human eye. In order for it to glow visibly, the inside of the glass bulb is coated with special compounds, that turn Ultraviolet light into normal visible light, called "phosphors" (Not to be confused with the element "Phosphorous"). This coating is why the bulb appears opaque, not clear like the Neon one. These phosphors are used because the bulb can be made to glow almost any color, unlike Neon, which is always orange. I've seen green, blue, white, and yellow with phosphors though.

This concludes my post on Neon, thanks for reading!

~Ben

P.S. If you enjoy this blog and want to help me make it better, the best thing you can do is tell your friends and family about it, or donate a few dollars towards my sample budget!

Radioactivity

Here I'll teach you the basics of radioactivity, which comes in handy for a good number of the elements I might collect.

In all simplicity, a radioactive atom(which is just a small particle of an element) is an atom who's core (Protons+Neutrons) is unstable, and, given a certain time, will decay into an atom of a different element. synthetic (man-made)Isotopes, or atoms with different numbers of Neutrons than normal, are quite often radioactive and depending on what kind of atom they are they will decay either one element forward in the periodic table, or one element back.

The decay of these elements is in the form of either Alpha particles, Beta particles, or Gamma rays. Further description below:

Alpha particles are basically Helium cores, being two protons and two neutrons, but with no electrons. Alpha particles are generally the least dangerous, as they can barely penetrate a few inches of air, and are easily blocked by even a thin piece of paper.

Beta particles are free electrons, but in a different form than normal electrical voltage. They can be slightly more hazardous than Alpha particles, and penetrate air easily, only being stopped by a sheet of metal.

Gamma rays are high energy Photons, the same stuff normal light is made out of, but they are invisible and of much higher energy. These tend to bet he most harmful type of radiation, because they can penetrate even semi-thick metal, but are easily blocked by a thick layer of a heavier metal, such as Lead. Because of this Lead jars or boxes are often used to contain radioactive items, and Lead bricks are used to construct radiation-proof walls where needed.

A very basic radioactive molecule is Tritium, which is a name for Hydrogen-3 (Or Hydrogen with 1 proton, 2 neutrons) has an atomic number (number of Protons) of 1, and will decay into Helium-3(2 protons, 1 neutron), which is a unusual, but not radioactive, isotope of Helium. Helium's atomic number is 2.

This decay isn't linear, meaning it doesn't decay at a set rate of some number of atoms per year, but binary, meaning that by the time half of the material is decayed, it will decay half as fast. Example 1 gram (or any measurement of weight, pound, ounce, doesn't matter) of Hydrogen-3 will take 12.43 years to decay into .5 grams of Hydrogen-3, and .5 grams of Helium-3(This time for half to decay is called it's "Half life". I will reference this later). However if you wait another 12.43 years, you won't have no Tritium at all, but you'll have half the tritium you had 12.43years ago, or .25 grams.

Half lives of elements can range from microseconds for Synthetic elements (Like Lawrencium) to hundreds of millions of years for very lightly radioactive elements (Like Bismuth, which isn't considered radioactive it's radiation level is so low)

Technetium, atomic number 43, which is a Transition Metal, has no stable Isotopes, meaning every form is radioactive. Some Isotopes are short on Neutrons, example Technetium-96,(42 protons, 54 neutrons) so they decay back from atomic number 43 (Technetium) to atomic number 42 (Molybdenum). But some have too many Neutrons, example Technetium-98, so decay up a number to atomic number 44 (Ruthenium).

Notice all Isotopes of technetium decay, but stable elements such as Gold (Atomic number 79), who's common Isotope is Gold-197(79 protons, 117 neutrons), also have isotopes with more or less neutrons that decay up or down one element (Gold-196 decays into Platinum, Gold-198 decays into Mercury)

Some Isotopes of elements are extremely radioactive, so even their decay product (What they decay into) is radioactive, and in turn, decays even further. Some elements have long chains of different elements they decay into, example Radium-222 decays into Radon-222, which decays into Polonium-218, which in turn decays into a stable isotope of Lead.

You can also create synthetic elements by artificially adding neutrons to an atom. In theory, you could take something like Mercury, and add enough neutrons for it to slowly decay into Gold, but the price of this process is far greater than the profit from the Gold produced.

Please notice that I am not a specialist on radioactivity, I only learn enough to understand how my elements work, and to keep my curiosity at bay. There is alot I haven't explained here, I suggest if you want to find out more, simply search "radioactivity" and you should find lots of pages explaining in much greater detail.

Thanks again for reading!

~Ben

Molybdenum

Molybdenum is a metal quite similar to lead in physical properties, it is heavy, and has a greasy feel to it's surface. It has the 6th highest melting point of any element at about 4,800 degrees F. It's name comes from ancient greek for Lead, because it's ores (naturally found compounds) where confused with lead ores when first discovered.

Molybdenum's atomic number is 42, and atomic weight is 95.94 consisting of a mix of Isotopes from Molybdenum-94 to Molybdenum-97 (The number at the end is the "Isotopic number", and means the atomic weight of that specific Isotope, Molybdenum-94, having 42 protons, would have 52 neutrons, for a total of 94) It's electron layers go 2, 8, 18, 13, 1.

Molybdenum is almost never (or extremely rarely) found as a native metal, meaning it is always in a compound in nature, not pure form. It has a wide range of uses, most being either heat resistance or alloying for strength, Molybdenum can be alloyed with steel to make armor grade steel for military vehicles, and is also used as support wires for some incandescent light bulbs for it's high heat resistance, and this is one of the easiest ways to get a small sample(see images below).

This is a burnt-out incandescent lamp. The two thickest wires are a copper alloy, but the thin wire on the right side is Molybdenum. The spiral-shaped pieces are fragments of the burnt-out filament, which are Tungsten. Before you break the bulb, let me say that some larger bulbs have no support wires, meaning no Molybdenum. Look in and see if it has supports like I described. I've seen some light bulbs with 4 or 5 support wires, but also lots with none at all.

Broken bulb. You can see the wire structure more clearly here, the thinner, taller wire with a loop at the end is the Molybdenum. Please be careful breaking glass! The safest method I've found is to put the bulb in a zip-lock plastic bag, then drop 2-3 feet onto concrete or stone(Not wood floor! It might scratch it). If it doesn't break, drop it slightly higher until it does. Make sure you clean up any glass fragments! It is a nightmare to get them out of your toes.

This is all the molybdenum I could get out of it, and since the bulb was burnt out, the Molybdenum was brittle and cracked. Not much of a sample, but enough to say you have some!

These small spirally pieces are fragments of the filament, and are Tungsten, not Molybdenum. You might want to save these too as Tungsten is an element, but you can get much nicer pieces from un-used lightbulbs.

This concludes my post on Molybdenum, thanks for reading!

~Ben

Copper

Copper is a redish shiny metal that is fairly soft, and will bend easily without shattering or cracking. It's melting point is quite high (about 2,000F) so I can only melt small beads of it with my blow torch.

It's atomic symbol is "Cu", atomic number is 29 and it's atomic weight is 63.546 (the atomic weight isn't an exact number because different isotopes(numbers of neutrons) are mixed, most commonly it has 34 Neutrons, but sometimes has 35. Both Isotopes are stable (non radioactive)) It's electron shells(layers) have 2, 8, 18, and 1 electrons in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th shell accordingly.

It sits in the Transition Metals section of the periodic table, right after Nickel and before Zinc. It conducts electricity very well, which is why it's used very commonly in circuit boards and wires. Below it on the periodic table are Silver, then Gold, which both show similar traits to copper being non-reactive(doesn't rust easily), soft, and very good conductors of electricity.

Copper also forms many oxides (rusts) and other salts (compounds) that range from green to blue color, and are so vivid they are sometimes used in dyes and paints(see bottom picture below). The green color of the Statue of Liberty is because of copper in it.

Copper is also used in Alloys, or mixes of metals, because it makes them stronger or better electrical conductors. Most Aluminum is made with a small amount of Copper in it to help it shatter or crack less. Another common alloy is Brass, being a mixture of Copper and Zinc, which is known for a gold color, and is also somewhat corrosion(rust) proof.

These are my copper samples. Top picture, Sample 1:

This is a solid copper ball used in copper-plating, I got it because my dad works for a company that has circuit boards made for them, so I got a tour of the company. These balls are placed in a stainless-steel cage then submerged in acid, and when electricity flows from the balls to whatever they're plating, copper atoms will flow with it resulting in the ball getting smaller and a thin layer of copper appearing on the object being plated. They had a big bucket full of these (at the time they where shinier) and I got to keep one just by asking!

Sample 2:(and picture 2)

This is a giant slab of copper about 1/4" thick, it is very very heavy and has a nice shine to it. I do not know what it was used for, my dad got it as scrap (even though it's worth over $30, might've been cheaper when it was thrown out) at a past job. It's the biggest single piece of copper I've ever held.

Sample 3:

This doesn't look like copper because it is plated in Nickel, but if you scrape it you can see it is solid copper. It was used in a big piece of radio equipment my dad took apart that used high voltage (Copper conducts well). There where 2 of them, but I broke one trying to melt it.

Sample 4:

These are just pieces of electrical wire, used in houses everywhere! I coiled them so they wouldn't be so hard to carry, the bigger one is about 2 feet long if un-coiled.

Sample 5:

This is what is called "Native Copper", because it was found in nature exactly how it is. Most times copper will be found in an "ore", which is just a compound or oxide, but it is sometimes found in pure form such as this.

Sample 6:

United States pennies! These are easily the most commonly seen form of copper, and makes a nice display for any collection like mine. However, pennies minted(made) AFTER 1982 are not pure copper, they have a core made of Zinc and a thin layer of Copper on the outside, because it is cheaper(If you grind or scrape the edges, you will soon see a silvery metal instead of copper). Pennies before this date (the top one in this pic is a 1950, quite rare) are pure copper though, and, oddly enough, worth more than 1 cent.

Sample 7:

This is copper foil, used in arts and crafts. It's easily found in most arts and crafts stores, sold just for it's pleasing color. It can be cut easily with good scissors. Some older houses used copper for roof ridges in a similar form, at a demolition site I once saw a piece about 8" wide, 3 feet long, and much thicker than this, but I wasn't allowed to keep it. Today copper is to expensive for this use($3/pound)

This is Copper Acetate dissolved in water, a good example of the blue colors copper can make. I made this by taking White Vinegar, putting two pieces of Copper in it(not touching each other), then putting electricity(any electricity will do, I used a 6 volt lamp battery, but the more power the faster it will work) between them. If left long enough, the vinegar will turn blue, and this is what's left. You can boil the water off and get a very vivid, light blue-green powder, which is pure copper acetate (not dissolved). NOTE: I do not know if this is poisonous, but I highly suggest you do NOT eat/drink it or get it on your hands right before dinner.

This sums up my post on Copper, any questions or comments gladly accepted and hopefully answered! Feel free to point out anything important I've left out, and I'll try to fix it.