rasiel

This I think is a little unfair. There was nothing for sale on that page. I was just trying to share my work. I don't have an alternate link.

I started a new project taking photographs of each element in hi-res. Wikipedia is the usual go-to source of images but erratic quality and sizes. I figured using the same type of lighting on a good macro setup would help this somewhat. Anyway, I hope it's of use to someone! link to commercial site removed (click on each for full size) Rasiel

For it to be stable you really need the sheets to be at least 10mm. Even at 10mm I got a small stress crack (see image). Of course, as you increase the thickness the weight and cost goes up but 10mm is a good balance between cost and portability. The cells can also accommodate minerals. Here's a chunk of pyrite seen from the back (and, heh, in the wrong place too!) In case anyone's even remotely interested I'd sell it for $500 plus shipping. For now there's only this one but if there was enough interest I wouldn't mind switching careers to become a fulltime craftsman!

Heh, if only. Just a sheet of 48x24x1/4in acrylic at Home Depot runs $65 ...and for this project you'd need three! Then there's the labor. How long would you guess it takes to precision glue (to within, say, 0.5mm tolerance) a couple hundred pieces? Still don't believe me? See what this guy went through for a similar project, except uncovered: http://thehomescientist.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-element-display-introduction.html But yeah, if there was a machine that could pop these out they'd be dirt cheap. I thought of the contacts idea for the gases. It might be doable but hydrogen and helium would quickly leak out. Plus the idea here is to provide a set that the collector can fill rather than provide a partially filled in one.

Hey guys, I wanted to show off a handmade prototype that took a long (long!) time to put together. It would house a collection of elements. We're thinking of selling these if there's enough interest. The 'cells' are big enough to hold a 2x2 cube as elements sometimes come embedded in this size. They'd be pretty expensive mostly because there's a lot of labor involved in putting them together. Each one starts out as two acrylic sheets. A CNC router then cuts out the holes in one panel and then a third panel which is cut up into sized squares that are then individually glued in position. When the whole grid is in place then the two panels are sandwiched and glued on.... a real pain but it looks great! Would love to hear some comments. I've been a collector of elements for a long time and finally have a decent way to show them off!

just as fun a list to compare i would imagine! these would be the top contenders for the stuff you'd most dread to get on you. off the top of my head these are the ones that most freak me out: 1- hydrofluoric acid 2- nitric acid 3- bromine 4- dimethylmercury 5- liquid nitrogen 6- white phosphorus 7- polonium 8- dioxin 9- radon 10- dog poop? meth? ras

i know i'm shooting myself in the foot but am just too chicken what with the uranium and beryllium. on the other hand if all you were interested in was the samarium i have an ampouled sample of it that is still in my leftover pile. i also have a really cool ampoule of calcium metal that has the look and heft of popcorn! when you tilt it clinks from one side to the next. i think i want to hold on to that one though ;-) and my cesium! cesium cesium cesium! ras ps.... ooops, never mind. read too fast, you were interested in the scandium. not available in the u.k.?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Selling-Entire-Elements-Collection-67-pure-samples_W0QQitemZ120125758835QQihZ002QQcategoryZ413QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem i shall miss ye, sniff sniff ras

ah yes, yes.. you got me there. i've done it but it's unfortunately much messier than mercury which is now verboten as a plaything but back in the 70's.... ras

c'mon... all you guys skipped cesium? what other metal can you melt in your hand? um, well, that's assuming there's a bit of a glass wall between it and your skin ;-) ras ps. and white phosphorus eternally glowing in the dark? how cool is that?!?