elementcollector1

Er... that's somewhat beyond my capabilities... I'm only 15. What about applying a blowtorch a few inches away from the pipe?

I'm making the Aperture Science Handheld Dual Portal Device from the game Portal. The two white parts on the outside need a curve, as you can see if you look up the in-game worldmodel. And I don't really mind thinning out the PVC a bit, but will that be brittle when I'm done?

It's a bit dangerous, but NaBr + H2SO4 = Na2SO4 + Br2 + H2O + SO2

So, I was thinking: If I laid the pieces between two posts, put a heavy spherical object inside the area I want to bend, and heat on the outside, would that cause a bend?

I have 2 pieces of 4" I.D. PVC. They are about 5'6" long each, and partially cut open to make a 'U' sort of shape. Now, my question is, is there any way to make a curve across the length of the PVC, to make a sort of hemisphere shape?

I believe it should, but it would dissolve the gold much slower.

Impressive collection you've got going there. Anyway, seeing as I'm somehow on a roll, just got the Iridium from a sparkplug today. Which reminds me: I have the center electrode wire, but I have no idea what it is. Is there any way I could figure it out on the elements below? Newer longer lasting plugs now use electodes made of yttrium, iridium, platinum, tungsten, or palladium.

Hate to double-post, but just ordered samples from United Nuclear of Gallium, Sodium, Indium, Cobalt, and Calcium.

On a side note, would a displacement reaction be possible, with say, Lithium? Li + CeCl2 -> LiCl + Ce? Probably not, but the reactivity series seems to support me. Also, random question: Would the above reaction work with MgCl to create Mg?

Thanks! I can actually use this.

I see. So, solubility is an issue to take into account... Is there any known way I could get a higher concentration of Cerium metal in the mischmetal? Also, is there anything I could use that is like mineral oil, but has a much higher BP to control the fire?

So, after a few months of heavy research, I came up with this: Lanthanum (La) To obtain Lanthanum, see the process for Cerium. Cerium (Ce) Metallic cerium is found in 50% or higherconcentrations in magnesium firestarters, known as “mischmetal” flints. To getthe cerium, you must first obtain a bunch of mischmetal parts. To heat it to just the righttemperature, I would suggest a Bunsen burner, which burns at about 900 degreesC, perfect for this application. Use a steel crucible, preferably with asupermagnet attached to it (so that the iron oxide draws to here). When the ceriumis liquid, and there is something floating on top, scoop it out and separateany iron oxide remaining. This should now be a mixture of lanthanum metal andmagnesium oxide. See Lanthanum above for the rest of the steps. Mischmetal:MP 788-844 degrees C, non-eutectic, typically 50% cerium, 25% lanthanum, 4%praseodymium, 21% iron/magnesium oxide. Lanthanum:MP 920 degrees C, D 6.162 g/cm-3, mD 5.94 g/cm-3 Cerium: MP 795 degrees C, D 6.770 g/cm-3, mD 6.55 g/cm-3 Praseodymium:MP 935 degrees C, D 6.77 g/cm-3, mD 6.50 g/cm-3 Iron Oxide: MP 1566 degrees C, D 5.242 g/cm-3 MagnesiumOxide: MP 2852 degrees C, D 3.58 g/cm-3 When molten mischmetal is heated to795-920 degrees C: Lanthanum:solid, D 6.162 g/cm-3 Cerium:liquid, D 6.55 g/cm-3 Praseodymium: solid, D6.77 g/cm-3 Iron Oxide: solid, D 5.242 g/cm-3 MagnesiumOxide: solid, D 3.58 g/cm-3 Therefore,when molten mischmetal is heated to below 920 degrees, but above 795 degrees, praseodymiumas a solid will sink to the bottom, whereas lanthanum and the two oxides willfloat on the top as solids, and cerium will stay molten. Questions I have are: -Is this process feasible? -Are there any problems I might encounter while doing this (rapid oxidation, sudden reaction, etc.)? -How do I separate the Lanthanum from the Magnesium Oxide? All help and criticism is appreciated, constructive or not.

Thanks. Since that post, I've added to the list: -Americium (stored under a lead capsule) Working on making a few rare earths from mischmetal.

Probably not. I thought distillation in this case meant the separation of liquids and solids.

Okay. So, what exactly is distillation? That sounds the most promising of the group.

Carbon: It's the autocorrect. I meant to put parenthesis C endparenthesis. Gold: Cubic centimeters, sorry. Americium: It was something like that, but I kept getting it wrong. As for the other random typos, that's just the format it was put in. I'll try to fix it... Thanks for the point-outs, though. Great help.

Well, I was bored one day two years back, and had just started collecting the elements of the Periodic Table. I read up on as many as I could, to get a better sense of how to make each one if possible. Then, as my head slowly became crammed with knowledge, I found I needed a place to put it all down so I could remember it. Thus, this guide was born. Before you start reading it, however, be sure to read the following. -If you know a simpler method of getting an element (other than buying it outright from a chemical supplier), then by all means, tell me! -Quite a few radioactive elements are discussed here, so if you're the kind of person who instantly gets chills up their spine when reading the word RADIOACTIVE, then I give you permission to leave now. You have been warned. That being said, on with the guide! 0.1 Thermite Reactions Normally, people do thermite reactions in twoflowerpots stacked on top of eachother, but I have discovered an easier way.What you have to do is commence the reaction in a new cooking pot, with ananodized layer of aluminium oxide on the surface of both the pot and the lid.This ensures that no metal can escape by creating a temporary vacuum inside thepot which holds it together while the reaction occurs. (Just make sure to closethe thing as soon as you start, and that your lid is NOT glass, which willbreak.) To do a thermite reaction, you take an oxide orhydroxide of a metal (e.g. iron, chromium, etc.) and powder it, combining itwith a powder of a reducing agent (usually aluminium, magnesium, or cryolite).Stick a magnesium fuse (4th of July sparklers are excellent forthis) into the mix, light it, and close the lid. When the pot has stoppedsmoking, and when you are able to open it, quickly pour some mineral oil in tostop oxidation. How it works: The oxygen separates from the metal at hightemperatures, and flows to the more reactive material (the reducing agent).When the mixture cools, this leaves the desired pure metal and a waste product. This will be explored a lot in this book, so referback to this section often. 0.2 Reactivity Series This chart comes in handy when learning about theextraction of elements from ores, as well as what to use for anodes andcathodes. Metal Ion Reactivity Extraction K K+ reacts with water electrolysis Na Na+ reacts with water electrolysis Li Li+ reacts with water electrolysis Sr Sr2+ reacts with water electrolysis Ca Ca2+ reacts with water electrolysis Mg Mg2+ reacts with acid electrolysis Al Al3+ reacts with acids electrolysis Zn Zn2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Cr Cr2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Fe Fe2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Cd Cd2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Co Co2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Ni Ni2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Sn Sn2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Pb Pb2+ reacts with acids smeltingwith coke Cu Cu2+ may react with oxidizing acids heat/ physical extraction Ag Ag+ may react with oxidizing acids heat/ physical extraction Hg Hg2+ may react with oxidizing acids heat/ physical extraction Au Au3+ may react with oxidizing acids heat/ physical extraction Pt Pt2+ may react with oxidizing acids heat/ physical extraction 0.3 Pyrophorics These guys just love to go up in flames when incontact with air. To prevent this, store them under mineral oil, a cheap andeasily available product. § Alkalimetals (sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium) § Finelydivided metals (iron, magnesium, calcium, zirconium, titanium, bismuth, hafnium, osmium) § Lead § Phosphorus (white,or yellow) Storing method: This must be used directly after your thermitereactions, and cannot be used for rubidium or cesium. This works mainly for thealkali metals. Take a bowl filled with a small amount ofwater. Put some mineral oil on top, to float on the surface. Place yourmetal-rich waste product in the bowl. How it works: The product is placed into the water, wherethe alkali metal begins to react with the water (while the waste does not).However, alkali metals are so light that they are less dense than water, andwill float up to the mineral oil, ending the reaction and separating them fromthe waste products. This is not completely efficient, as some of the metal islost, but it is the best way to store the metal, as it will already be coatedin a layer of mineral oil, making it easy to drop it in a test tube full ofmore oil and end the process there. 0.4Flame Test An important tool in determining thecomposition of a compound, the flame test relies on the color differentelements give to a Bunsen burner flame. WoodenSplint or Cotton Swab Method Wooden splints or cotton swabs offer an inexpensive alternative to wire loops.To use wooden splints, soak them overnight in distilled water. Pour out thewater and rinse the splints with clean water, being careful to avoidcontaminating the water with sodium (as from sweat on your hands). Take a dampsplint or cotton swab that has been moistened in water, dip it in the sample tobe tested, and wave the splint or swab through the flame. Do not hold thesample in the flame as this would cause the splint or swab to ignite. Use a newsplint or swab for each test. Howto Interpret the Results The sample isidentified by comparing the observed flame color against known values from atable or chart. Red Carmine to Magenta: Lithium compounds. Masked by barium or sodium. Scarlet or Crimson: Strontium compounds. Masked by barium. Red: Rubidium (unfiltered flame) Yellow-Red: Calcium compounds. Masked by barium. Yellow Gold: Iron Intense Yellow: Sodium compounds, even in trace amounts. A yellow flame is notindicative of sodium unless it persists and is not intensified by addition of1% NaCl to the dry compound. White Bright White: Magnesium White-Green: Zinc Green Emerald: Copper compounds, other than halides. Thallium. Bright Green: Boron Blue-Green: Phosphates, when moistened with H2SO4 or B2O3. Faint Green: Antimony and NH4 compounds. Yellow-Green: Barium, manganese(II), molybdenum. Blue Azure: Lead, selenium, bismuth, cesium, copper(I), CuCl2 and othercopper compounds moistened with hydrochloric acid, indium, lead. Light Blue: Arsenic and come of its compounds. Greenish Blue: CuBr2, antimony Purple Violet: Potassium compounds other than borates, phosphates, and silicates.Masked by sodium or lithium. Lilac to Purple-Red: Potassium, rubidium, and/or cesium in the presence ofsodium when viewed through a blue glass. Limitationsof the Flame Test The test cannot detect low concentrations of most ions. The brightness of the signal varies from one sample to another. For example, the yellow emission from sodium is much brighter than the red emission from the same amount of lithium. Impurities or contaminants affect the test results. Sodium, in particular, is present in most compounds and will color the flame. Sometimes a blue glass is used to filter out the yellow of sodium. The test cannot differentiate between all elements. Several metals produce the same flame color. Some compounds do not change the color of the flame at all. PrimaryReference: Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 8th Edition, Handbook PublishersInc., 1952. Flame Test Colors Symbol Element Color As Arsenic Blue B Boron Bright green Ba Barium Pale/Yellowish Green Ca Calcium Orange to red Cs Cesium Blue Cu(I Copper(I) Blue Cu(II) Copper(II) non-halide Green Cu(II) Copper(II) halide Blue-green Fe Iron Gold In Indium Blue K Potassium Lilac to red Li Lithium Magenta to carmine Mg Magnesium Bright white Mn(II) Manganese(II) Yellowish green Mo Molybdenum Yellowish green Na Sodium Intense yellow P Phosphorus Pale bluish green Pb Lead Blue Rb Rubidium Red to purple-red Sb Antimony Pale green Se Selenium Azure blue Sr Strontium Crimson Te Tellurium Pale green Tl Thallium Pure green Zn Zinc Bluish green to whitish green 0.5Reverse Electroplating Reverse electroplating is what you can do to get anelectroplated substance off of another substance. This is highly useful for theplatinum group metals like rhodium, palladium, platinum, gold, and just aboutany other electroplated metal. To do this, you take a Pyrex glass container andfill it partway with sulfuric acid. Then, you attach a copper sheet (bent tocontain the jewelry) and alligator clip as an anode, and another alligator clipand sheet of copper (not bent, as much surface area in the acid as possible) toserve as a cathode. Run this at 9 or more volts of power, and after about fiveminutes you should start seeing a result. Either the copper sheet should turnsilver, or you should see a powder of the corresponding element in the coppersheet. 0.6 Acid Making For many of these reactions, you will need hydrochloricacid, a corrosive substance. The making of this is relatively simple, and onlyinvolves three reactants. However, a slightly complex setup is needed. To makehydrogen chloride, the gas that is responsible for the acid's properties, youadd sulfuric acid to table salt. Next, bubble this through distilled water toget hydrochloric acid. To make sulfuric acid, take copper sulfate (bluecrystals) and put them in water. Use the same method you would for electrolysis(carbon electrodes, like pencil lead) and electrolyze this solution to get amixture of copper and weak sulfuric acid. Filter out the copper, and boil theresult to get 75% H2SO4. Alternatively, both of theseacids are usually available on stores like McLendon's for relatively cheapprices, ($3.95 for 1 quart of 31.95% HCl at McLendon's) and much betterconcentrations. 0.7 Radioactivity If you're really serious about the wholeelement-collecting thing, a select few radioisotopes of actinides and such areavailable to the element hunter. For all radioactive elements, and I don't careif they only emit alpha radiation, store them in a preferablyhermetically-sealed (airtight) container, made entirely of lead. You should beable to make these with lead sheets, maybe from rooftop shingles? Anyway, weldthose together into small boxes or cubes, and store radioactive elements inthat. As with all dangerous processes you may undertake for this collection,rest assured that I am not liable in any way for whatever you do to yourself. 1. Hydrogen (H) Hydrogen,the first of the elements, is also one of the easiest to obtain through the useof simple chemistry. Hydrogen can be obtained through the use of electrolysisof salt water, or passing electricity through salt water. Materials: -Pure water (H2O) -Wire / battery -Container -2 test tubes -2 metal paperclips -Salt Procedure: 1) Get 2 test tubes: 1 for the Hydrogen, and 1 for the wasteproduct (oxygen and a small amount of chlorine gas). 2) Fill a container with pure water, NOTtap water. Put a large amount of salt in the water. 3) Set up your battery and wires, andput metal paperclips on the end of each wire. 4) Making sure the test tubes are filledcompletely with the water, put an end of a wire into a corresponding test tube. 5) The cathode will produce hydrogen,while the anode will produce the waste product. You can tell which is whichbecause since water has 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen, the test tube containinghydrogen will fill up twice as fast. 6) When the test tube is full, lift itup (being careful not to let it be overturned, releasing all the hydrogen) putthe cap on it and seal it with duct tape. Congratulations! You have justcreated Hydrogen. Precautions:Hydrogen is explosive, as noted in the famous Hindenburg crash. Never, EVER getany fire near it. Thisreaction produces a small amount of chlorine gas, which can be poisonous. Usecaution. 2. Helium (He) The besteasy way to obtain this noble gas is to find a signmaker that sells "neon"lights. These lights are actually combinations of noble gases to make differentcolors. Pure helium is a peach, or light tan color in these lights, however,all of these gases are colorless without an electric current flowing through them.See the chart below for neon color signs: Helium Neon Argon Xenon Krypton - White 3. Lithium (Li) The lightestmetal known, lithium can actually float on water. Then it reacts with the waterto release hydrogen gas, which is the most exothermic (heat-releasing),although not the most rigorous of the alkali metals' reactions. Lithium iscommonly found in batteries, like an Energizer Lithium battery. For these lithium batteries, the process is a bit dangerous, but much morerewarding. For starters, peel off the plastic on the surface to reveal thesteel case. With pliers, pop off the release valve, negative terminal, andplastic casing at one end, revealing the core of the battery. Take this over toa fume hood, as some dangerous stuff (mostly liquid and gas) is going to beworked with. Unroll the outer covering like a roll of tape, revealing aprotective foamy-like inner casing. Unroll this, and in the center will be asteel mesh containing manganese dioxide, and under that is the lithium. Thereis quite a chunk of lithium in here for such a small battery, consisting of aone-and-a-half foot by 3-inch strip of pure lithium. Coil it back up, put itinside a test tube, and you now have your very own lithium. 4. Beryllium (Be) Beryllium isa toxic metal that, after too much exposure to the human body, causesberylliosis, which is fatal. It is also thought to be a carcinogen, so handlewith extreme care. This will involve a thermite reaction, with berylliumfluoride and magnesium metal. The ratios of substance are as follows. 2BeF3+ 3Mg -> 3MgF2 + 2Be 2 atoms ofBe + 6 atoms of F + 3 atoms of Mg -> 3 atoms of Mg + 6 atoms of F + 2 atomsof Be. For everyquantity of beryllium fluoride, you will get one quantity of beryllium metal.Simple, right? That also means there should be 3/2 the amount of magnesium ascompared to the beryllium fluoride. So if you had 50 grams of BeF3,you would correspondingly need 75 grams of Mg and obtain 50 grams of Be. Prettyeasy math. Take care,this is a dangerous metal to mess with. 5. Boron (B) Boron, anonmetal element, is used for tennis rackets due to it's light weight and highstrength. 6. Carbon © Carbon, the element known for creating the complex molecules that, in turn,make you, is also a very easy elementto find. After all, you write with it! Carbon is found in the mineral graphite(pictured above next to diamond, another form of carbon), which is used aspencil "lead". So break open your used pencils, and there you have it! Anotheruse for carbon you will be needing is the form named "coke". This is used oftento refine metals, and can be created by reacting sulfuric acid with tablesugar. 7. Nitrogen (N) Nitrogen,for me, was one of the most surprising elements to find, due to the fact thatit's just so easy, it's in the bag. Literally! Nitrogen is the stuff used toinflate chip bags. All you have to do is open one, stick a test tube full ofwater in (quickly, so the nitrogen doesn't escape) and cork it! Oh, and youprobably can't eat the chips afterward. (They'd be all soggy…eww….) 8. Oxygen (O) Oxygen is aslightly harder element to get in pure form than the ones we've covered so far.Then again, as the Table goes on, it will get slowly harder to get theelements. Oxygen can be made by combining manganese dioxide (the stuff in thelithium battery) and hydrogen peroxide (a mild antiseptic found at mostpharmacies). All you have to do is trap the resulting gas in a test tube, andyou're done! Hooray for chemistry. Note: You may havenoticed that I skip a few elements, such as fluorine. This is because there isno cheap or safe way to obtain those elements, or that the elements are toxic.Both are the case with fluorine, and besides, fluorine would destroy your testtube, due to its reaction with glass. 10. Neon (Ne) Neon is thesame deal as helium, only you would look for a reddish-orange color in yourneon light. See "Helium" (#2) for more detail. Another method is to break opena sodium vapor lamp, which contains 99% neon gas and 1% argon gas in aPenning's mixture. 11. Sodium (Na) Sodium is avery difficult element to obtain in pure form, as it easily reacts with air toform an oxide, and violently produces hydrogen gas when in contact with water.The easiest way is to react sodium hydroxide (aka lye) with magnesium powder(as finely ground as possible),with a long fuse of magnesium, bent upwards.This should be done inside a closed, steel area, such as a can with a lid or asteel pot. Afterwards, take a bowl of water and pour some mineral oil on top ofit. Drop your reacted mush inside, and watch as the sodium partially reacts.This removes waste products because the sodium-rich mush reacts with the water,but then floats to the top of the oil, ending the reaction and leaving you withchunks of pure sodium on top of the oil. Store this metal under mineral oil tokeep anything from happening to it, and most importantly, do this reactionOUTSIDE. Another waythat doesn't involve chemistry is to break open a sodium vapor lamp, whichcontains a small amount of sodium (in a mercury amalgam) and 99% neon gas.Sodium vapor lamps' more common name are streetlights, which light up the earthbright orange at night. Many havetried to electrolyze sodium chloride, but this does not work due to a) NaCl'shigh melting point of 800 degrees C, b) not having electrodes that produce waytoo much electricity or c) not having the correct electrodes. It is mucheasier, but more dangerous, to do a thermite with sodium hydroxide andmagnesium. Speaking of magnesium… 12. Magnesium (Mg) Magnesium iseasily available in pure form. Just go to the local Boy Scouts, camping store,or Target ™ and find a Magnesium sparker. These are used to start fires. If youwant a cheaper alternative, find a plastic, prism pencil sharpener that looksslightly darker than aluminum. This is because some sharpeners are made ofmagnesium, and some of aluminum. Once you think you have magnesium, pour alittle vinegar on it. If it bubbles and produces hydrogen gas, it's magnesium.If not, aluminum. To makeMagnesium powder, you will need a hacksaw, a clamp, and a chunk of Magnesium,or a steel file and a chunk. Simply start cutting into or scraping the chunk,and powder will start forming (along the line of the blade, on the floor). Justscrape this into a container, and you can use this for all sorts of fun andentirely unnecessary explosions. For thermites involving this, it is necessaryto use a fuse. So what I recommend is to cut a thin strip of Mg, and collectthe powder you make. 13. Aluminum (Al) Probably theeasiest element to find in this book, all you have to do is go to your kitchenand get a piece of aluminum foil, known alternatively as tinfoil (though no tinis present in current aluminum foil). That's really all you have to do. Also,for some of the later reactions in this book you will need aluminum powder. Tomake this, you will need a few items. These are aluminum foil, steel shot(spheres, available in most magnetic toys like Magnetix), and a blender or rocktumbler. Rip the aluminum to shreds, and fill your blender/tumbler ½ full ofthese. Add a bit of steel shot to fill the thing to ¾ full, and let the blenderdo its magic until you get a fine powder. If you're using a tumbler, let runfor about 1-2 weeks to get the desired result. 14. Silicon (Si) This elementis used in computer chips. So ask your dad if he has any old motherboards orother computer circuitry, and chances are there will be a silicon chip inthere. Alternatively, you could crack open a solar panel, or visit SiliconValley in California. Silicon's pretty cheap over there. 15. Phosphorus (P) To get redphosphorus, the safe form of this element, you will need quite a few matchboxes(NOT the matches), 100% pure Acetone, which can be found at most hardware orpaint stores, a scraper, a filter, and a few other odds and ends. First, cutthe red, usually hexagonal-patterned strikers off of the matchboxes. Then, dumpthese into a cup or shot glass, and pour the acetone in until it covers the topof the strikers, and stir it vigorously. Ever heard that chemistry is likecooking, and vice versa. Well, it is. After you are sure that all the redphosphorus has come off of the strikers (you may have to scrape some off intothe acetone, so wear some heavy gloves), decant this into a filter. This leavesmostly pure red phosphorus, with some acetone, paper, and glue still in it. Toget rid of all this, place your red phosphorus powder into a Pyrex container,and place this in a pot and fill with water until the Pyrex is submerged. Bringthis to boiling, and leave it there for a while to get rid of the rest of theimpurities. Dry this in another filter to get ultra-pure red phosphorus. Precautions:Acetone's fumes are caustic, meaning they will harm organic matter (i.e. you)upon contact. 16. Sulfur (S) This shouldbe fun. If you live near a geyser, or are taking a trip to see one, look aroundthe geyser and in the nearby ground for small, lemon-yellow opaque crystals.This is pure sulfur, and on the way, you get to see rock and hot water goingKABOOM!! Another, more available way is to find it on the top ofstrike-anywhere matches, in pyrotechnics compositions and black powder. 17. Chlorine (Cl) An easy wayto obtain chlorine is to drop a 9V battery in heavily salted water. The reasonyou get pure chlorine from this is that the positive end forms iron oxide (iron+ oxygen from water) and chlorine gas, and the negative forms hydrogen.Alternatively, a few other reactions in this book will produce chlorine, so ifthe battery fails, try these. You can tell only chlorine is being produced if aterminal of the battery is rusting. Put 5 or 6 batteries into a beaker ofwater, and put a funnel on top for the best results. Chlorine should begreenish as a gas. 18. Argon (Ar) While argonis a noble gas, and glows purple when used in "neon" lights, there is another,easier way to obtain argon: Just find a dead light bulb. Light bulbs are filledwith argon instead of air, so that the bulb burns cleaner and brighter. 19. Potassium (K) A moredangerous element due to its violent reaction with water, potassium can beobtained through the electrolysis of molten caustic potash (KOH). KOH's meltingpoint is 680 degrees F, and it is commonly found in drain cleaners. Search forEnforcer Maximum Strength Drain Opener to find a KOH solution, usually athardware stores like McLendon's or Home Depot. Boil this down (outside!) to getpure KOH. Alternatively,you can heat sodium metal with potassium chloride (known as Murate of Potash atany grocery store) to 850 degrees Celsius to reduce it to gaseous potassium andliquid sodium chloride, which can then be collected and distilled. Precautions: Potassiumactually reacts with the water vapor in air, so store it under oil. "Caustic"means it will BURN YOUR SKIN OFF. Take extreme precautions when dealing withpotassium hydroxide. 20. Calcium (Ca) The stuffthat makes your teeth, calcium is a moderately difficult element to isolate. Anotherthermite, this one requires plaster (of Paris, presumably) and aluminum powder.Combine these and heat with a fuse of magnesium, and you get calcium metal. 21. Scandium (Sc) Scandiumisn't very well-known, but the easiest way to obtain it is through theelectrolysis of scandium chloride, which will release Scandium metal andChlorine gas, which is a poison. 22. Titanium (Ti) Titanium issometimes used in cooking equipment due to its light weight and strength,especially in backpacking cooking equipment. Once again, Boy Scouts comes inhandy. Alternatively,you can use a complex thermite reaction between titanium dioxide, aluminum,drywall plaster, and maybe ground fluorite powder, and pick out the lumps oftitanium metal afterwards. 23. Vanadium (V) Vanadium canbe obtained through a highly dangerous thermite reaction with Vanadiumpentoxide (a poison) and magnesium, with a fuse of magnesium ribbon and abarrier. The chemical reaction and quantities are listed below: V2O5+ 5Mg -> 5 MgO + 2V For everyquantity of vanadium pentoxide, you need five times that amount of magnesium,and will get 5 quantities of magnesium oxide and 2 quantities of vanadiummetal. Huzzah! I am notresponsible for your injuries, however I am responsible for telling you how todo this correctly. To read about thermite reactions, see page 0.1. 24. Chromium (Cr) Who wants todo some super-dangerous chemistry? Come on, raise your hands, you know you wantto. To get pure chromium, you have to use a thermite reaction. This involveschromium oxide (III) powder, and aluminum as the oxide-reducing agent (inpowder form). Add a strip of magnesium as the fire-starter, a metal surfaceunderneath, light, and run away! When the container is no longer shootingsparks or smoking, let it cool, harden, and pick out the chunks of Chromiumfrom the rest. It should be especially shiny! Here's your chemical equation: 2Cr2O3+ 3Al -> 4Cr + 3AlO2 Ratio: 2Cr2O3:3 Al = 4Cr : 3 AlO2. 25. Manganese (Mn) Through thesame process as many metals, Manganese can be obtained through a thermitereaction of Manganese Dioxide (MnO2). Use either aluminum or Coke (aform of carbon, produced by adding sulfuric acid to sugar) at a 1:2 ratio ofMnO2 to C/Al, respectively. Make sure to AVOID AT ALL COSTS the gasproduced by this reaction, if you end up using coke. It is carbon monoxide, awell-known toxin, so do this outside. Dig out the Manganese metal nuggetsafterwards. Just remember, thermite reactions are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Use caution, have parent supervision,and remember to record it on videotape. It will be quite the explosive memory… 26. Iron (Fe) You knowthose handwarmers that people use to warm up on a cold day? Well, those containiron powder, which slowly oxidizes and releases heat in the process. So grab ahandwarmer and melt the iron out from the rest (a mixture of vermiculite andactivated carbon) 27. Cobalt (Co) Yep, anotherthermite reaction. Cobalt oxide (II), aluminum, magnesium ribbon, 30-feet blastradius…You know the drill. Chemical equation: Co3O4+ 2Al -> 3Co + 2AlO2 For everyquantity of cobalt oxide, you need twice that of aluminum powder and will getthree times that in cobalt metal, and two times the amount of cobalt oxide inaluminum oxide. 28. Nickel (Ni) If you'reCanadian, this'll be easy! If not, it'll be a bit difficult. To obtain nickel,find a Canadian dime dated 1969 to 1999, and it's made of pure nickel. And youget ten cents! 29. Copper (Cu) Rememberthose wires you used for Hydrogen, and maybe Sodium/Chlorine? Cut off a bit,and strip the outer rubber off. You'll be left with pure copper wire. 30. Zinc (Zn) One of myfavorite, this involves a recently dated U.S. penny and a bit of hard work. Youcan use sandpaper, or a concrete surface, but rub the penny against these. Keepat it until the whole thing is silver-colored, and there you have it: A disc ofpure zinc. 31. Gallium (Ga) Gallium isanother extremely hard-to-get element, and the best way I have found so far isto order a sample of sodium gallate from a chemical supplier's catalog, andelectrolyze it. Sodium gallate is an acid, so take care. 32. Germanium (Ge) Germaniumrequires you to find a 1N34A Germanium diode. Break it open to get theGermanium semiconductor crystal within. 34. Selenium (Se) To start theprocess of obtaining Selenium, first obtain selenium dioxide (from a chemicalcatalog). Mix this with water, turning it into selenous acid. This is bubbledwith sulfur dioxide (see germanium above for production of this) to produceelemental selenium. 35. Bromine (Br) One of justtwo liquid elements, Bromine can be obtained by reacting sodium bromide (NaBr),a solid with sulfuric acid, where some of the resulting HBr (hydrogen bromide)is oxidized to pure bromine. NaBr (solid) + H2SO4 (aqeous solution)→ HBr (aqeous solution) + NaHSO4 (aqeous solution) 2 HBr (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) → Br2 (gas,liquid) + SO2 (gas) + 2 H2O (liquid) 36. Krypton (Kr) Krypton,like the other noble gases, is used in neon lighting. Just look for abluish-white color. 37. Rubidium (Rb) Rubidium, anotheralkali metal, is mainly produced through a thermite reaction of rubidiumchloride (obtained from a chemical catalog) and calcium powder. Just rememberwhat you've learned. 38. Strontium (Sr) Strontium isobtained through a complex chemical reaction, through the melting of strontiumchloride (a well-known firework ingredient which burns a deep red, and is madefrom strontium carbonate and hydrochloric acid) and mixing of the moltencompound with potassium chloride, and electrolyzing the molten result. Thiswill produce strontium, and waste products containing potassium and chlorine.Man, there's a lot of chlorine production in these reactions. Maybe forChlorine, I should've just said: See almost every other entry in the book. 39. Yttrium (Y) Yttrium isobtained through the same method as the rare earth elements, but itsconcentrations in monazite sand vary between 2 and 3 percent. That means youhave to get 50 grams of monazite to get a little over 1 gram of yttrium. (50grams is pretty small, so you should have no trouble.) 40. Zirconium (Zr) Purezirconium metal is produced by powdering a pure form of the gemstone cubiczirconia, and using a thermite reaction with aluminum to reduce the zirconiumdioxide to aluminum oxide and zirconium metal. Chemical equation: 3 ZrO2 + 4 Al = 3 Zr + 2 Al2O3 41. Niobium (Nb) Niobium canbe produced by mixing powdered niobium oxide (Nb2O5) withpowdered hematite, a common magnetic mineral (Fe2O3),then adding powdered aluminum to that. As you can guess, this is a thermitereaction, so proceed accordingly. 42. Molybdenum (Mo) Molybdenumcan be easily found. It is the wire that holds up the tungsten coils in a flashbulb.So, that's 3 elements in one lightbulb. Wow. 43. Technetium (Tc) Hooray,radioactivity! Technetium can be found in one of two highly expensive methods.One is to buy a technetium-based atomic battery, and another is to somehow getsome Tc-99m, a metastable isotope used in radiosurgery. 44. Ruthenium (Ru) Rutheniumcan be found on ruthenium-plated jewelry. The typical color of this jewelry isa dark, pewter color. 45. Rhodium (Rh) To get rhodium, you have to get a piece ofrhodium plated jewelry. To get the Rhodium off, you can use reverseelectrolysis. 46.Palladium (Pd) Like rhodium, palladium can be reverseelectroplated off a plated jewelry. 47. Silver (Ag) Silver,known for its beauty and use in jewelry, is commonly found in bullion shops.Bullion is the general term for bars and coins straight from the mint, so keepan eye on the spot price of silver (It should be in the business stocks, under'Commodities') and save up for a troy ounce or two. 48. Cadmium (Cd) This one'seasy, and is very similar to the process for Lithium. Just break open acompletely drained Nickel-Cadmium battery, and the cadmium is deposited on oneside of the battery. Another wayis to crack open a cadmium-telluride solar panel, powdering the cadmiumtelluride (a black, shiny solid), and heating it to 610 degrees Fahrenheit.This melts out the Cadmium, and leaves the Tellurium behind. It's a two-for-onedeal! 49. Indium (In) Indium isused as a part of a solder named simply "Indalloy 1", containing 50% Indium byweight, and 50 % Tin by weight. So buy the solder, heat it to 320 degrees F,and the Indium will melt, but the Tin won't. Alternatively, the solder "In99"is 99% Indium, but it may be expensive. Another way is to disassemble acomputer and find the microprocessor inside. Between the microprocessor and itsheat sink is a layer of pure indium. 50. Tin (Sn) Tin is apretty easy metal to get, just melt a solder with a very high concentration oftin to about 450 degrees Fahrenheit (oven temperature) and remove the moltenparts from the still-solid parts. Solders are found in every Home Depot inexistence. A good one to use is "Indalloy 1", which contains a mixture of halfTin and half Indium, so two elements are in the bag instead of one. If youdon't want to go to the trouble of getting a cool blob of tin, the solder"Sn99" is, as the name might imply, nearly pure tin. 51. Antimony (Sb) Antimony iscommonly found as a sulfide, and to reduce this to pure antimony, you have touse powdered stibnite (natural antimony sulfide) with scrap iron, and heat itto form antimony and iron sulfide. Here is the chemical equation: Sb2S3 + 3Fe-> 2Sb + 3FeS 3 times as much iron as Sb2S3 willgive you two quantities of antimony, and three of iron sulfide. Antimony is dangerous if ingested, so be careful. 52. Tellurium (Te) Tellurium isfound by precipitating it out of telluric acid (Te(OH)6,or in cadmium telluride solar panels. Break open a solar panel, get the blacksolid inside (make sure this is NOT silicon!) and heat it to 610 degrees F.This will melt out the Cadmium, leaving the tellurium behind. 53. Iodine (I) A relativelyeasy element to get, provided you have the right materials. These are coppersulfate, a common blue chemical, and potassium iodide, a slightly less commonsalt of potassium. Combine these, and you will initially get copper (II)iodide, which decomposes to iodine and copper (I) iodide. A morecomplex way is to combine however many mL of tincture of iodine, half that ofhydrochloric acid, and the same amount as the bottles of hydrogen peroxide.Stir this for five minutes, let precipitate for five or more minutes, andfilter. The iodine should be a wet sort of sludge at this point, so connectwhatever you used for the iodine collection (e.g. a test tube) to another testtube, through a glass or maybe rubber tube. Heat the sludge until the iodinesublimes into a violet gas, and put the other test tube in an extremely coldplace. When the iodine gas hits the cold test tube, it crystallizes into solid,black-silver iodine. NEVER do this inside, as the fumes given off by the iodineare potentially poisonous. Another way to obtain Iodine is to pour sulfuric acid onto kelp.Kelp and other water plants have high concentrations of iodine in them, so thisshould be easier for tropical people. Iodine sublimes into gas at room temperature, and this gas isharmful, so keep it well sealed. 54. Xenon (Xe) Xenon is found in neon lights as a light blue color.Alternatively, it is found in some headlamp bulbs, and maybe at a weldingstore. 55. Cesium (Cs) Cesium is one of those few elements that has a low enough meltingpoint to actually melt in your hand. Cesium can be produced by finding aspecimen of pollucite (Cs(Si2Al)O6 x n H2O)and powdering it, then putting it in a solution of sulfuric acid to get acesium alum (CsAl(SO4). Roast this with carbon, then add water toget cesium sulfate (CsSO4). Now that the sulfate is in aqueoussolution, add barium azide (Ba(N3)2 to get cesium azide(CsN3). Heat this to 800 degrees C to get exceptionally pure cesium. 56. Barium (Ba) Barium can be produced through the electrolysis of molten bariumchloride, which can be produced by reacting barium carbonate with hydrochloricacid: BaCO3 (s) +2 HCl (aq) → BaCl2 (aq)+ CO2 (g) + H2O (l) Barium chloride is toxic and melts at 1763.6 degrees F. So get theblowtorch and some oxygen, and get electrolyzing! A note: Barium very quicklyoxidizes, so try to keep it under oil. For cesium's isolation, you will need barium azide. To make this,you take barium carbonate and turn it into barium oxide by heating it withcoke. Then, react this with hydroazoic acid (HN3) to get bariumazide. Barium oxide is a skin irritant, so wear gloves. 57-60, 62-71. The RareEarth Elements (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) Do you live in Florida? Do you live near a beach? Floridianbeaches are chock-full of monazite, which contains all of the rare earthelements, sometimes in concentrations as high as 50 percent! So head on down tothat there beach, collect as much of the sand pictured below as you can, andget the sample assayed for the rare earth elements, and when you have done this,separate them by highest concentration of an element (excluding cerium, becausethat's the principal component of monazite anyway), and follow the steps of thechemical reaction below: 1) Treat the mixture with hot,concentrated sulfuric acid. This turns the element into its water-solublesulfates. Have these re-assayed, and separated again into the element's sulfateand the waste products, which may be sulfates of other rare earths (so keepthem around!). 2) When this is done, treat themixture with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) to reduce the acidity. 3) Treat the result with ammoniumoxate to convert it into the element's oxate, and again, check for purity. It'sbest to save up trips like these, as one long assaying session of severaldifferent compounds is much better than several short trips, both for theenvironment and for your patience. 4) Anneal your product to get theoxide of the element (annealing is a process of heating at a constanttemperature, cooling, and then heating again, and is used by all blacksmiths). 5) Dissolve your result in nitricacid. Cerium is excluded from this process because cerium salts are insolublein nitric acid. Cerium has a separate entry below. 6) Remove the result, dispose or keepthe nitric acid, and be quick about it: many of the rare earths are known tocatch fire when exposed to air, and explode more violently than potassium inwater, so fill your vials and test tubes with oil to prevent oxidation, andinjury. Cerium (Ce):Metallic cerium can be obtained by, you guessed it, a thermite reaction. Thereactants will be cerium chloride, and metallic calcium in powder form. Followthe common thermite reaction procedure, and you've obtained metallic cerium!Just remember to control the temperature to be over 1463 degrees F, but under 1548degrees F, so the cerium melts but the calcium doesn't. This reaction, like somany others, produces chlorine gas. Chemical equations and ratios, you know thedrill by now: 2CeCl3 + 3Ca -> 2Ce +3CaCl2 72. Hafnium (Hf) Hafnium is incredibly hard to separatein nature from zirconium, but you can bypass that by starting with hafniumchloride. When this is powdered, mixed with powdered magnesium, and heated toabout 2,012 degrees F, the result produces pure hafnium metal and magnesiumchloride, which can rarely poison people. HfCl2 + Mg -> Hf + MgCl2 73. Tantalum (Ta) Tantalum can be obtained by buying atantalum electrolytic capacitor. These have a tantalum powder core, a tantalumpentoxide outer shell, and a manganese dioxide shell. 74. Tungsten (W) Tungsten isthat tiny spring-like wire in a light bulb. Crack one open, and get thetungsten (and argon, and molybdenum) inside. 75. Rhenium (Re) Rhenium canbe obtained by reacting perrhenic acid with ammonium chloride to get ammoniumperrhenate. Then react this product with burning hydrogen to obtain a mixturethat contains ammonia (corrosive), water, and rhenium powder. Here is thechemical equation: 2 NH4ReO4 + 7 H2 → 2Re + 8 H2O + 2 NH3 Rhenium compounds are about as toxic as table salt, but little isknown about the toxicity of rhenium itself. Take care. 76. Osmium (Os) Osmium isvery dangerous, like beryllium. It is pyrophoric in powder form (bursts intoflames on contact with air), and reacts with air to form osmium tetroxide, anextremely painful and poisonous gas. A good way to obtain Osmium (and Iridium) is to find apure sample of iridosmine (a mineral), beat it to a powder, and heat it to awhopping 4436.6 degrees F to melt the iridium out. This will leave iridiumsolid and osmium powder, so heat the osmium with burning hydrogen to melt itinto its safer solid form. Iridosmine can be found on the tips of expensivepens, as well as Osmium itself. 77.Iridium (Ir) To get iridium (see Osmium above for moredetail), you have to melt it out of iridosmine powder. Iridium melts at 4436.6degrees F, so get out your tungsten wires, people! 78. Platinum (Pt) Platinum,the most expensive jewelry ingredient, can be obtained by reverseelectroplating it off of jewelry. 79. Gold (Au) Yes, I cantell you how to get the metal of kings. But it requires a lot of hard work. Inevery stream in the world, there is at least a small quantity of gold. To getit, get a good-old fashioned gold pan, and look for a bend in the stream ofyour choice (preferably as near to a mountain as you can get). Pan on theinside curve of that bend, and if the gold's not there, it's not anywhere inthat stream. Alternatively, you could buy gold bullion (bullion is discussed inSilver), but it's currently very expensive, well over $1000 for a cube 1.61inches long, which is a troy ounce. It's best for a first-timer to try and goto California, to the Mother Lode area, and take lessons there. The people ofJamestown Gold Panning are very informative, and were extremely helpful to meon my first real panning and sluicing experience, teaching me severalprofessional techniques. So grab your gold pan, and head out there to collectthe world's favorite yellow metal. 80. Mercury (Hg) Next toberyllium or arsenic, mercury is one of the most toxic elements I can tell youhow to get. What you have to do is find anything from the 1980's-1990's with atemperature-related application (ex: thermometer) and look for a liquid metalsomewhere inside it. Try to extract the Mercury in a cold environment, to keepit as a liquid. Mercury vapor is extremely toxic, and the metal itself canenter through the skin, so use medical gloves, or something that won't letanything enter your skin. These are being banned, so if your parent is about tothrow one out, stop them and reuse it! Sincemercury is quickly evaporating (heh) from the commercial industry, another wayI have found is to heat powdered cinnabar, a common mineral. This gives mercuryvapor and sulfur dioxide, both dangerous gases. See more ongetting Sodium for a possible alternate method of getting mercury. 81. Thallium (Tl) Thallium ishighly toxic, a carcinogen, and enters the body through skin, air and water. Ifyou still want this element, obtain the mineral crookesite, and treating itwith sulfuric acid to produce thallium sulfate. Melt this, and electrolyze theresult to get pure thallium and sulfur. Pick up the thallium with tongs, andplace it in a test tube. Cork it, and you have pure thallium. 82. Lead (Pb) Lead is arelatively safe metal, only toxic when ingested or melted. The easiest way toobtain lead is by going to a store that sells fishing equipment, and buying alead weight. That sounds easy enough, right? 83. Bismuth (Bi) Bismuth canbe found anywhere there's tourists. Lab-grown bismuth crystals form a beautifuloxide in all colors of the rainbow on their surface, and are very often sold inrock and hobby shops. Bismuth is also found in lead-free bullets. 94. Plutonium (Pu) Ah,plutonium, the stuff that has inspired radioactivity-themed objects for quite awhile. To get even a small amount of plutonium, you will have to pay quiteexpensively. Plutonium is found in the batteries of pacemakers, devices thatregulate heartbeat. 95. Americium (Am) This is the secondradioactive element I will teach you how to get, and also the easiest. To getamericium, you have to take apart a smoke detector. What you will find (at thecenter, encased in a few shells of aluminum) is 0.9 micrograms of americium.Seal this in a vial made of or coated with LEAD, to prevent the radioactivityfrom getting to you. 96. Curium (Cu) Same asplutonium.

Actually, I found a much cheaper and simpler solution, so thanks anyway. By the way, this topic can be closed now.

The most I should be using is 3 feet. So, that would be 3 volts total?

Okay, so I'm building a replica of the Portal Device from Portal. The thing is, for the lighting in the middle of the gun, I need EL wire. Unfortunately, I understand next to nothing about EL wire. Some questions I have are: Can a 9V or less battery make the wire emit enough visible light? Does the wire need an AC power source to work? Can the wire be hooked up to a simple circuit? Any help is much appreciated.

Not very, mainly because I don't know the exact definition of practical chemistry, other than economic use.

So, what if I wanted to separate mischmetal? It's about 50% cerium and 25% lanthanum, with the balance being small amounts of praseodymium, neodymium, and magnesium/iron oxide. Preferentially, I would extract the cerium first, if possible.

Is it possible to take an alloy (e.g. stainless steel, solder) and separate it into its components? Could you melt each metal out, or what? Help is appreciated.

Sure ya can! Hydrochloric acid can be obtained at hardware stores like McLendon's for about $3-4, and hydrogen peroxide can be found at every pharmacy for half that. It really depends on what age you are, though. People will question you if you're young and buying this stuff. But if you are young, and really interested in making iodine, get your parents to buy this stuff for you.

In the immortal words of Barack Obama, YES WE CAN. I've made sodium metal several times, the result is impure but works. In case anyone wants to know how, it was a NaOH and Mg thermite reaction.