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Ampule. This is a lovely sealed ampule containing one gram of rubidium metal. I have used my hot photographic light to partially melt the contents (which was foolish and dangerous of course). There's just something fascinating about a liquid metal! This one forms a nice mirror on the surface of the ampule if you shake it. It makes a very nice set together with the very similar cesium ampulealso from David Franco. I chose this sample to represent its element in my Photographic Periodic Table Poster. The sample photograph includes text exactly as it appears in the poster, which you are encouraged to buy a copy of.  Source: David Franco Contributor: David Franco Acquired: 10 July, 2003 Price: Donated Size: 0.5" Purity: 99.9% |
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Time standard cell. Rubidium and cesium, which are in the same column of the periodic table and share many of the same chemical properties, are also both used as very high accuracy time standards. A collection of cesium clocks is the current international standard for time. Rubidium clocks are not as accurate, but they are a whole lot cheaper: Functional units can be had for just a hundred dollars or so on eBay. This is the smallest currently available rubidium cell from inside such a time standard. You can just barely see the drop of rubidium inside the square glass cell (which is only about 1/4" on edge, to give you an idea of how small this thing is). The picture is focused such that the rubidium dot is in focus on the back face of the cell: See the 3D version to get a better view of the unit as a whole. In operation the cylinder next to the cell heats up (you can see the electrical contacts on the back in the 3D view) to the point where the rubidium is vaporized, the coils wrapped around the unit as a whole sets up a magnetic field, and it is the frequency of an electronic transition of the vaporized rubidium atoms in this field that is used as the time standard. Source: eBay seller pablof_azul Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 20 June, 2003 Price: $30 Size: 1" Purity: >99% |
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Sample from the Everest Set. Up until the early 1990's a company in Russia sold a periodic table collection with element samples. At some point their American distributor sold off the remaining stock to a man who is now selling them on eBay. The samples (except gasses) weigh about 0.25 grams each, and the whole set comes in a very nice wooden box with a printed periodic table in the lid. To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description and information about how to buy one, or you can see photographs of all the samples from the set displayed on my website in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order. Source: Rob Accurso Contributor: Rob Accurso Acquired: 7 February, 2003 Price: Donated Size: 0.2" Purity: >99% |
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Sample from the RGB Set. The Red Green and Blue company in England sells a very nice element collection in several versions. Max Whitby, the director of the company, very kindly donated a complete set to the periodic table table. To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description or the company's website which includes many photographs and pricing details. I have two photographs of each sample from the set: One taken by me and one from the company. You can see photographs of all the samples displayed in a periodic table format: my pictures or their pictures. Or you can see both side-by-side with bigger pictures in numerical order. The picture on the left was taken by me. Here is the company's version (there is some variation between sets, so the pictures sometimes show different variations of the samples):  Source: Max Whitby of RGB Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB Acquired: 25 January, 2003 Price: Donated Size: 0.2" Purity: 99% |
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Sealed ampule. Rubidium is much like cesium in that it's a solid at room temperature, but liquid just a bit higher. Cesium actually melts in your hand, while rubidium needs to be just a bit warmer. Cesium also has a much prettier color, exactly the color of gold. They would both, however, explode on contact with moist air, so we keep them both safely locked up. Click the source link for an interesting story about where this sample came from. Source: Tryggvi Emilsson and Timothy Brumleve Contributor: Tryggvi Emilsson and Timothy Brumleve Acquired: 6 September, 2002 Price: Donated Size: 2.5" Purity: 99.9% |
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RbMnF3 crystal. I don't even know what you'd call this other than by its chemical name: It's a pretty pinkish little bar of what is probably a single crystal, crudely cut and roughly surfaced, but not polished to any significant degree. It came from a batch of old samples and research materials being discarded by Ethan's university. The fact that it's translucent and colored makes me think it might be intended as some kind of laser material, whether it worked or not I have no idea. The fact that they threw it away may or may not indicate something about its usefulness. Source: Ethan Currens Contributor: Ethan Currens Acquired: 16 March, 2007 Price: Donated Size: 1" Composition: RbMnF3 Sample Group: Ethan Currens Group |
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Rock dated by rubidium decay. (External Sample) This very, very old rock was dated by measuring the decay of rubidium in it. Sort of like carbon-dating for really old things. Location: The Boston Museum of Science Photographed: 2 October, 2002 Size: 36 Purity: <0.01% |
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