Element collecting

[Gilded]

You know, that sounds like a good idea. We could have a stickied reagent thread as well, you know with all sorts of companies that provide pyrotechnics related material.

 

And about the element collecting, I'd be more than glad to "test" different providers and find new ones.

[YT2095]

well lets not get beyond ourselves or means here

 

a Decisive list of the elements and where to obtain them LEGALY, would make a nice sticky post if done and formatted correctly

 

anything beyond that is for later discussion, but I see no reason such a thing as suggested regarding the Elements Couldn`t be made significant if the data is correct and it`s displayed well

[Professor]

Cesium Hydroxide, how do you store it? And has anyone ever made Sodium Octadecanoate? Its a very simple but fun thing to do. And can someone tell me how to make nylon-66? I have a rough idea on how to make it but im not shure how to pull it out of the solution.

[YT2095]

we used to wrap a piece of it around a glass rod and keep twisting it to make the line through a stream of water.

 

as for CsOH, Very Carefully would be my answer

 

as for the Sodium Octadecanoate, never tried it myself.

[Gilded]

"a Decisive list of the elements and where to obtain them LEGALY, would make a nice sticky post if done and formatted correctly :)"

 

You can legally get a sample of every element from 1 to 92. Those are the ones that are normally considered as naturally occurring, and I had no intentions about telling people something like "Making plutonium at home through nucleosynthesis".

[boris_73]

is £49.00 for 500g of mercury cheap, if not then bugar it ill make my own

[Gilded]

Sounds like a reasonable price to me. I trust it's electronic grade purity? I think KNO3.com sold it on eBay (perhaps that's the one you're looking at).

[boris_73]

i am looking at http://www.kno3.com they have loads of new chemicals there now including mercury and zinc 500g for £14.99

[boris_73]

on the other hand how much would about 1 kilo of cinnabar rock cost because i can extract the mercury from that

[Gilded]

If you need the mercury for an experiment or something, perhaps you could try and extract it yourself. But if you're looking for an element sample (as one might guess since this is the element collecting thread ) you're probably better off with even a small amount of ultra pure mercury.

[boris_73]

i know thats why i thought of extracting because 500g is a little to excssive, and i wont be able to get rid of the rest

[Gilded]

Getting rid of mercury is a pain in the ass. Why don't you start an element store of your own where you can sell the excess Hg?

[boris_73]

cost effective i dont think it would be worth it i would have 490g of mercury to sell so i woul get about £45 but in order to sell it i would have to get a licence which might cost who knows say £70 and already i am down on profit then i have to get a store which would cost more money, see not a very cost effective way of making money is it:))

[Gilded]

Well, you could always make your own mercury switches with it.

[boris_73]

yes i suppose i could

[jdurg]

Well, I hate to brag, but here's a link to my element collection. It's a mighty big file, but it's got a picture of every stable element, as well as Tc and Pm. If you go over to www.chemicalforums.com and take a look at their links section, I've posted a great deal of links to sites that I've gotten elements from. Dave Hamric is one of the best. For the alkali metals and some of the really dangerous ones, he's not really all too keen on shipping them outside of the USA, but if you talk with him he might be able to work something out. I've met the guy and he's a great person who takes the element business seriously. He has now begun to ampoule the more reactive elements so that they will retain their shine and "pure" look for eternity. I also helped him setup an apparatus for producing pure, dry chlorine gas and he now sells chlorine ampoules on his website.

[Gilded]

If someone's looking for thorium and uranium (no, not any boring oxides, pure metal!) or perhaps promethium and radium (in watch dial form), RGB is a good choice to obtain such elements, legally! And since they are located in London, the UK fellows (who seem to be quite a majority here) won't have a problem with that.

[Gilded]

Yay, got my gallium and bismuth today. They are AWESOME. Now I have xenon, krypton, argon, neon, iridium and the gallium and bismuth. :> Only about 85 elements to go!

[Gilded]

http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/009/index.s7.html#sample5

 

As there was a conversation about fluorine in the strongest acid-thread, I found a nice method of making a long lasting fluorine ampoule. Don't attempt to make one in a non-laboratory environment though!

[boris_73]

heh i already have some flourine in the form of PTFE tape

[ed84c]

Yay, got my gallium and bismuth today. They are AWESOME. Now I have xenon, krypton, argon, neon, iridium and the gallium and bismuth. :> Only about 85 elements to go!

 

were from?

 

ive got the familar elements and bismuth of eBay (only 2.25!)

[Gilded]

Ok, here's my collection so far:

 

Iridium, 5g pellet. From RGB, UK (London)

Neon, Xenon, Argon, Krypton in small lightbulbs (Austria/Germany, Smart Elements)

Bismuth (about 110g crystal), gallium (originally 10g :> ) (Austria/Germany, Smart Elements)

 

Recently, I ordered a lanthanide/rare earth set (16 different metals) from Metallium Inc. (David Hamric). I hope it comes next week.

(http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=413&item=6120127164)

[MulderMan]

i just got my magnesium this morning. its in like a square block this time, not on a strip role. came part of a 'flint and steel' fire starting kit like ya used to use in scouts n that. see if i can find anymore bargains on ebay, just emailed RGB with some q's.

[Gilded]

The RGB Deluxe element collection is probably the best thing that has ever happened to element collecting. Every. Single. Element. From 1 to 92.

[jdurg]

The RGB Deluxe element collection is probably the best thing that has ever happened to element collecting. Every. Single. Element. From 1 to 92.

 

 

Yeah. If you don't want to deal with the hassle of trying to find pure samples of each element, RGB is a great place to go. They guarantee the purity of everything and give you nice sized samples. The only drawbacks are the high price, and the fact that you don't have the "fun of the hunt". For me, the fun part about collecting elements is the hunt. I love when I'm searching really hard for a good price on an element, and after months of no luck finally finding it. Or when I'm looking for one element, and I suddenly come upon a great sample of another element I was looking for. I just love that. Then you have the joy of opening up the packages in the mail and seeing your highly sought after element. I think it would be kind of a let down to get every one at once.

 

One thing I HIGHLY reccomend getting from Max Whitby (RGB) are the Noble Gases. They have beautiful displays made from glass tubing which is bent into the elements' symbol. It's then filled with a low pressure sample of said element so that when an electrical current is passed through them they will glow. I bought those about a year ago and I am very happy with them.

 

Another thing I love about collecting elements is the knowledge you gain. I had always known that gold was a dense metal, but I never realized just how dense it really is. When I got my first troy-ounce of it, I was shocked at how hefty it was. It was incredible. There is just so much joy in collecting elements that I could write a book on it. heh. I can't wait for my platinum to arrive next week. I have 1/3rd of an ounce coming in from http://www.apmex.com. Their prices are insanely good. Hopefully they'll start shipping internationally soon for all the non-USAers we have here on the board.