| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Funny melted blob. This is what happens when I get trigger happy on the vacuum arc. I had previously been melting some rhenium in the chamber, so the current was set way up- I took some vanadium 3N raw material to try and melt it into a nice circular button-so much for that. As you can see, the top melted very quickly and poured down the sides, creating an interesting effect. Since vanadium has such a high melting point, the amount of energy released by light emission caused the piece to solidify almost instantly after I cut the arc, resulting in the flow patterns of the molten metal being frozen on the surface. Source: Ethan Currens Contributor: Ethan Currens Acquired: 30 April, 2008 Text Updated: 30 April, 2008 Price: Anonymous Size: 1" Purity: 99.9% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Element coin. Dave Hamric sells element samples under the name Metallium. He's developed a line of coins struck out of various common and uncommon metals: They are quite lovely, and very reasonably priced, considering the difficulty of creating some of them. Here is the back side of this coin (click either picture to see it larger):  Click the Sample Group link below to see many other coins made of various elements, or click the link to his website above if you want to buy one like this. Source: Dave Hamric Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 1 December, 2006 Text Updated: 14 January, 2007 Price: $40 Size: 0.75" Purity: >99% Sample Group: Coins |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Poster sample. This is the same sample as the one from the RGB set above, as it appears 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: Max Whitby of RGB Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB Acquired: 25 January, 2003 Text Updated: 4 May, 2007 Price: Donated Size: 0.2" Purity: 99.7% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger |
Stock certificate. This is a stock certificate for 100 shares of the Vanadium Corporation of America. Or at least, it seems to be, though the fact that it's number 00000 argues against legitimacy. Anyway, if you happen to know it's actually worth a fortune, do let me know. Source: eBay seller americanaenterprises Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 10 September, 2003 Price: $12.50 Size: 11" Purity: 0% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger |
Hollow cathode lamp. Lamps like this are available for a very wide range of elements: Click the Sample Group link below to get a list of all the elements I have lamps like this for. They are used as light sources for atomic absorption spectrometers, which detect the presence of elements by seeing whether a sample absorbs the very specific wavelengths of light associated with the electronic transitions of the given element. The lamp uses an electric arc to stimulate the element it contains to emit its characteristic wavelengths of light: The same electronic transitions are responsible for emission and absorption, so the wavelengths are the same. In theory, each different lamp should produce a different color of light characteristic of its element. Unfortunately, the lamps all use neon as a carrier gas: You generally have to have such a carrier gas present to maintain the electric arc. Neon emits a number of very strong orange-red lines that overwhelm the color of the specific element. In a spectrometer this is no problem because you just use a prism or diffraction grating to separate the light into a spectrum, then block out the neon lines. But it does mean that they all look pretty much the same color to the naked eye. I've listed the price of all the lamps as $20, but that's really just a rough average: I paid varying amounts at various eBay auctions for these lamps, which list for a lot more from an instrument supplier. (Truth in photography: These lamps all look alike. I have just duplicated a photo of one of them to use for all of them, because they really do look exactly the same regardless of what element is inside. The ones listed are all ones I actually have in the collection.) Source: eBay seller heruur Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 24 December, 2003 Price: $20 Size: 8" Purity: 99.9% Sample Group: Atomic Emission Lamps |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Vanadium crunchies. When Max Whitby orders kilograms of rare earths and other elements from China, I sometimes piggyback a bit for my collection. This half-kilogram bottle of high-purity vanadium is a great example. It would be prohibitively expensive from a domestic chemical supplier, but as part of a bulk shipment from China, the price is a lot more reasonable. He orders elements for the small element sets he sells, as well as for the large museum displays we produce together in a joint venture. "Crunchies", by the way, is a British term for a particular type of breakfast cereal, which Max feels this vanadium greatly resembles. Source: Max Whitby of RGB Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 1 November, 2003 Text Updated: 29 January, 2009 Price: $142 Size: 5" Purity: 99.9% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger |
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 gases) 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 Text Updated: 29 January, 2009 Price: Donated Size: 0.2" Purity: >99% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
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 Text Updated: 11 August, 2007 Price: Donated Size: 0.2" Purity: 99.7% |
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Larger |
Vanadium wrench. This wrench is presumably a fairly standard chrome-vanadium steel alloy. Why they chose to label it as a "Vanadium" wrench I don't know, but it's good enough for me to put it here. Source: eBay seller sammy13 Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 28 August, 2002 Price: $10 Size: 8" Purity: <2% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | 3D |
Vanadium emerald. This is a simply lovely pale green emerald which gets its green color from an impurity of vanadium, as discussed in Uncle Tungsten. It was sold with the intention that it be cut into a jewel, but I think it's lovely just the way it is. The sellers, Ray Gaetan and Jill St. Michael, supplied the following information about vanadium emeralds:
Source: eBay seller rrgaetan Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 22 August, 2002 Text Updated: 11 August, 2007 Price: $10 Size: 0.15" Purity: <2% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger |
Tiny cylinder. Ed bought half a dozen different tiny metal cylinders from David Franco, intending to make some kind of puzzle out of them (Ed's a puzzle person). But they turned out to be too irregular, so he donated them to the table. Source: David Franco Contributor: Ed Pegg Jr Acquired: 19 August, 2002 Text Updated: 11 August, 2007 Price: Donated Size: 0.2" Purity: >99% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger |
Bottle of antique vanadium lumps. A lot of people seem to have an element or two in their attic. Much to my delight, after a few decades they start to wonder why, and when they hear about my periodic table project, they decide that I can give their elements a good home where they will be lovingly cared for and displayed for the enjoyment of the whole world. My interview on NPR's Science Friday radio show general several donations like this, including a highly radioactive Fiestaware bowl. But I was amazed when the producer of the show, Charles Bergquist, himself said "oh by the way, I have these elements that have been sitting around...". He donated vanadium, which is the second-hardest-to-get element in the first complete row of 18 elements (second only to scandium, which is truly hard to get). The lumps were all covered with a thick layer of oxide from decades of exposure to the air, but I've scraped off one of them so you can see the solid metal that remains inside each lump. They are far from consumed by oxidation. For the time being I'm going to leave them alone, because cleaning them would only accelerate the oxidation process. Some day I plan to find a source for sealable clear Mylar bags that I can fill with helium to preserve these sorts of samples. Then I'll carefully clean all the oxide off and seal the shiny lumps up in a bag. Source: Charles Bergquist Contributor: Charles Bergquist Acquired: 14 August, 2002 Text Updated: 29 January, 2009 Price: Donated Size: 0.1 Purity: >99% |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Chrome-vanadium steel socket. This hex socket (used with a handle to tighten or loosen hex nuts) is made of steel with a small percentage of chromium and vanadium to strengthen the alloy. For some reason nut- and bolt-related tools (socked sets, crescent wrenches, adjustable wrenches, spanners, etc) seem to have "chrome vanadium" and "Cr-V" stamped on them at a much higher rate than other tools, even though similar alloys are no doubt used for many other tools. It's probably a historical thing. Source: Farm & Fleet Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 8 February, 2009 Text Updated: 8 February, 2009 Price: $1 Size: 1" Composition: FeCrV |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Chrome Vanadium Wrench. Many tools are made of chrome-vanadium steel, an alloy that is tough, hard and not too expensive. Typical alloys contain about 1% chromium and a few tenths of a percent of vanadium. Source: Hardware Store Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 28 February, 2009 Text Updated: 1 March, 2009 Price: $8 Size: 8" Composition: FeCCrV |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Chrome Vanadium Wrench. Many tools are made of chrome-vanadium steel, an alloy that is tough, hard and not too expensive. Typical alloys contain about 1% chromium and a few tenths of a percent of vanadium. Source: Hardware Store Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 28 February, 2009 Text Updated: 1 March, 2009 Price: $8 Size: 8" Composition: FeCCrV |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Chrome-vanadium steel socket. This hex socket (used with a handle to tighten or loosen hex nuts) is made of steel with a small percentage of chromium and vanadium to strengthen the alloy. For some reason nut- and bolt-related tools (socked sets, crescent wrenches, adjustable wrenches, spanners, etc) seem to have "chrome vanadium" and "Cr-V" stamped on them at a much higher rate than other tools, even though similar alloys are no doubt used for many other tools. It's probably a historical thing. Source: Farm & Fleet Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 8 February, 2009 Text Updated: 8 February, 2009 Price: $1 Size: 1" Composition: FeCrV |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Vanadinite. Description from the source: Vanadinite (Pb5 (VO4)3Cl hex.), Apache Mine, Arizona, USA. Little but evident reddish crystals on solid matrix. 7,5x4x2 cm; 43 g. Source: Simone Citon Contributor: John Gray Acquired: 28 January, 2009 Text Updated: 29 January, 2009 Price: Trade Size: 3" Composition: Pb5(VO4)3Cl |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Cavansite. Description from the source: Cavansite (Ca (V+4 O) Si4 O10x4 H2O orth.), Wagholi Quarry, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India. 0,8x0,8x0,8 cm each; 8 g with box the two. Source: Simone Citon Contributor: John Gray Acquired: 28 January, 2009 Text Updated: 29 January, 2009 Price: Trade Size: 0.3" Composition: Ca(VO)Si4O10.4(H2O) |
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Photo Card Deck of the Elements. In late 2006 I published a photo periodic table and it's been selling well enough to encourage me to make new products. This one is a particularly neat one: A complete card deck of the elements with one big five-inch (12.7cm) square card for every element. If you like this site and all the pictures on it, you'll love this card deck. And of course if you're wondering what pays for all the pictures and the internet bandwidth to let you look at them, the answer is people buying my posters and cards decks. Hint hint. Source: Theodore Gray Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 19 November, 2008 Text Updated: 28 October, 2017 Price: $35 Size: 5" Composition: HHeLiBeBCNOFNeNaMg AlSiPSClArKCaScTiVCrMn FeCoNiCuZnGaGeAsSeBrKr RbSrYZrNbMoTcRuRhPdAg CdInSnSbTeIXeCsBaLaCePr NdPmSmEuGdTbDyHoErTm YbLuHfTaWReOsIrPtAuHgTl PbBiPoAtRnFrRaAcThPaUNp PuAmCmBkCfEsFmMdNoLrRf DbSgBhHsMtDsRgCnNhFlMcLvTsOg |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Carnotite. The yellow crust is the carnotite, an ore of uranium that also contains some traces of radium, which is used to justify the name "Radium Ore Revigator" used to describe the water jug you'll find listed under uranium (and which is lined with carnotite). Source: eBay seller dr**zarkoff Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 3 June, 2005 Price: $15 Size: 1.5" Composition: K2(UO2)2(VO4)2.3H2O |
||||||||||||||||||
Larger | Spin | 3D |
Vanadinite from Jensan Set. This sample represents vanadium in the "The Grand Tour of the Periodic Table" mineral collection from Jensan Scientifics. Visit my page about element collecting for a general description, or see photographs of all the samples from the set in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order. Source: Jensan Scientifics Contributor: Jensan Scientifics Acquired: 17 March, 2003 Price: Donated Size: 1" Composition: Pb5(VO4)3Cl |
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
