elementcollector1 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I have an okay element collection, it goes as follows: Hydrogen - Sealed test tube Helium - Sealed test tube Lithium - Small metal chunks from coin cell Beryllium - Sample in ampoule, from Metallium Boron - Sample in ampoule, from Metallium Carbon - Coal, pencil lead Nitrogen - Sealed test tube Oxygen - Sealed test tube Neon - Sample in ampoule, from Metallium Sodium - VERY impure sample I made from a thermite of NaOH Magnesium - Chunk of a camp firestarter Aluminum - Foil, powder Silicon - 2" chunk, bought for $3 in California Phosphorus - Vial of powder scraped from matchboxes Sulfur - Crystals, powder Argon - Sample in ampoule, from Metallium Iron - Slug in mineral oil Nickel - Canadian dime (ironic, my nickel is a dime.) Copper - Ball, nuggets, wire Zinc - Scraped U.S. pennies Silver - 1 troy oz. bullion bar Tin - Ingot, Metallium Iodine - Home-made chunks Gold - 24k foil in vial (tourist style) Mercury - thermometer Lead - Fishing weights Bismuth - Crystals Also, I have a few other Lithium pieces that I accidentally oxidized. (or hydroxidized. It's covered in white, flaky... something.) This was lithium foil from a battery, so does the oxide or hydroxide take over the whole thing or can I just melt it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWhite Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Hi, Been lurking here for a while, Google brought me to this thread which has been an excellent source of information for this hobby of element collecting! Decided to post to say thanks to everyone for some great links and advice. Also my collection is coming along quite nicely so I'd like to share it with you Photos and some basic info can be found here: - http://elements.scienceontheweb.net Please forgive the web design, this was made in notepad using my limited html knowledge. I have spares of Ca and S available for trade (small quantities) if anyone is interested. Thanks again for running a great forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genraven Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 "I have an okay element collection", that a pretty decent list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elementcollector1 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 "I have an okay element collection", that a pretty decent list 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elementcollector1 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 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. Hate to double-post, but just ordered samples from United Nuclear of Gallium, Sodium, Indium, Cobalt, and Calcium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teiu88 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 My collection: Hydrogen (Reaction with 9V battery, paper clips, and water) Carbon (Graphite and activated carbon) Oxygen (Reaction with H2O2) Fluorine (Teflon) Aluminum (Metallium (WHY?!?)) Phosphorus (Matchboxes) Titanium (Metallium) Chromium (Chrome-plated drill bits) Iron (From cereal ) Nickel (Pre-1980 Canadian dimes) Copper (Metallium) Zinc (Metallium) Gallium (Ebay) Molybdenum (Metallium) Rhodium (Plated ring) Silver (Metallium) Antimony (Smart-Elements) Cesium (Smart-Elements) Praseodymium (Metallium) Erbium (Metallium) Tantalum (Capacitors) Tungsten (Lightbulb) Gold (Ring) Mercury (Thermometer) Lead (Metallium) Bismuth (Metallium) Americium (Smoke detector) ? Getting soon: Tin Helium Argon Manganese Vanadium Magnesium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elementcollector1 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teiu88 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I just got: Sulfur Helium Iodine And my own element collecting website: http://thisismyelementcollection.webs.com/ (Sorry that it was made with http://www.webs.com/) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greippi Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 My father built an element collection thanks to his father who worked as a chemist in the steel industry, and by getting on well with his chemistry teacher (that sort of thing wouldn't be allowed these days!). He extracted/purified much of them himself and has samples of most of the naturally occurring elements. It's kind of a shame that these days it's so easy to obtain various chemicals online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teiu88 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Cesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Thorium Uranium Neptunium Americium Strikethrough = Have Bold = Getting Soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smooth Jazz Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 (edited) My collection: 6 Carbon - Graphite. 7 Nitrogen - Air. 8 Oxygen - Air. 9 Fluorine - Small piece of fluorite. 13 Aluminum - Foil. 14 Silicon - Silicon chip. 15 Phosphorus - Ampoule containing 1 gram of amorphous red phosphorus, from ebay. 16 Sulfur - Chunk of native sulfur. 18 Argon - Argon-filled light bulb. 26 Iron - Cast iron pan. 28 Nickel - Small strips from chemistry set. 29 Copper - Small strips from chemistry set. 30 Zinc - Small strips from chemistry set. 36 Krypton - Krypton flashlight bulb. 47 Silver - 1 oz silver coin. 50 Tin - Tin fishing weights. 51 Antimony - 50 Gram chunk, from Metallium. 52 Tellurium - 10 grams, mostly powder. 54 Xenon - Xenon flashlight bulb. 73 Tantalum - Piece of tantalum foil. 79 Gold - 1/20 oz gold coin. 82 Lead - Fishing weights, small strips from chemistry set. 83 Bismuth - 10 gram pellet from Metallium. Getting soon: 12 Magnesium - Disk from United Nuclear. 14 Silicon - Vial from United Nuclear. 24 Chromium - 100 grams of chromium pieces. 27 Cobalt - Chunk from United Nuclear. 31 Gallium - 20 Gram portion. 49 Indium - 10 gram piece. 80 Mercury - Several mercury thermometers. Also, I do have a question: If the ampoule were to rupture, would 300 mg of bromine be a serious hazard? link removed Moderator note: please do not post links to commercial sites. Edited December 20, 2013 by Smooth Jazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Vizine Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Correction, all actinides are radioactive. So is Bi and Pb as found in nature. Don't forget 40K....how will you avoid that? Promethium? I'd try the site of your countries last ground level atomic detonation. That's how my old professor, Jacob Marinsky, and 2 others found it. Cerric ammonium nitrate is a cheap, common oxidant in labs and industry. Or, so they say. I didn't need it once in 25 years of daily organic syntheses. Think these facts are correct, Roger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elementcollector1 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Among other things, recently added arsenic to my collection - made, not bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romix Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 (edited) Potassium Sodium Lithium Magnesium Aluminum Titanium Manganese Zinc Iron Cobalt Chromium Nickel Tin Lead Copper Silver Gold Palladium Tantalum Ruthenium Iodine Sulphur Silicon Chlorine Hydrogen Oxygen Edited September 7, 2014 by Romix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ027X Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I'm a chemistry newbie (electronics is more my specialty) but chem is always fun and useful knowledge. Personally, I'm entertaining the idea of creating an element collection by synthesizing all elements at home. Would anyone mind discussing what challenges, or impossibilities one might face if they attempted such a feat (because I'm confident there are some elements I just won't be able to produce at home, however I don't know offhand what those elements would be, nor how numerous). I certainly wouldn't mind investing in some lab equipment, or building the equipment myself, although I would hesitate to spend more than a couple hundred per piece of equipment. I'm currently working on a solder reflow oven capable of reaching a temp of 600C, I can create pretty much anything electronic for electrolysis, heating, thermoelectric-cooling, sensing, centrifuging, ionization, and such, I in intend to buy a vacuum chamber soon, however I am lacking in glasswear and a fume hood. However I could setup some fans in an open area. The intent here would be to get the raw elements from household, or inexpensive store-bought materials meaning (I assume) some elements will be very easy, and others very hard to obtain. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You personally, as an individual, can't do it; it involves seriously high energies and equipment splitting or fusing atoms. You are talking about acquiring a fission reactor, fusion reactor (no working model) or particle accelerator. Nuclear transmutation is a government-level undertaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sensei Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Any thoughts? You would need Cockcroft-Walton generator and Van der Graaf generator to create high-voltage for a start.. http://blazelabs.com/e-exp15.asp (if you're talking about nuclear transmutation/fission/fusion) (because I'm confident there are some elements I just won't be able to produce at home, however I don't know offhand what those elements would be, nor how numerous). Getting noble gases from air requires apparatus to condensation of Oxygen. Edited January 3, 2015 by Sensei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatfaal Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You personally, as an individual, can't do it; it involves seriously high energies and equipment splitting or fusing atoms. You are talking about acquiring a fission reactor, fusion reactor (no working model) or particle accelerator. Nuclear transmutation is a government-level undertaking. I presume DJ027X was talking about purification / extraction of the elements from accessible / purchasable mixtures and compounds - and with that proviso you could get to a very decent percentage. This is in Chemistry - not Physics - and I assume that short-lived higher number elements that are only accessible as short-lived products of nuclear reactions would be excluded. I wonder how many a well-equiped and dedicated hobbyist could reach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I presume DJ027X was talking about purification / extraction of the elements from accessible / purchasable mixtures and compounds - and with that proviso you could get to a very decent percentage. This is in Chemistry - not Physics - and I assume that short-lived higher number elements that are only accessible as short-lived products of nuclear reactions would be excluded. I wonder how many a well-equiped and dedicated hobbyist could reach? You may well be right but I took 'synthesizing' as the operative word in his question. Won't be the first time I've barked up the wrong tree. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorsor_7 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I am a collector. I have around 33 samples (almost all in compounds) the only pure ones i have are magnesium, carbon, argon, krypton, tungsten, lead, zinc, tin, and a few more. I am making a series on YouTube soon called extracting the elements where i extract elements from their compounds. My channel is Sor sor science07 if you want to check it out... My collection: 6 Carbon - Graphite. 7 Nitrogen - Air. 8 Oxygen - Air. 9 Fluorine - Small piece of fluorite. 13 Aluminum - Foil. 14 Silicon - Silicon chip. 15 Phosphorus - Ampoule containing 1 gram of amorphous red phosphorus, from ebay. 16 Sulfur - Chunk of native sulfur. 18 Argon - Argon-filled light bulb. 26 Iron - Cast iron pan. 28 Nickel - Small strips from chemistry set. 29 Copper - Small strips from chemistry set. 30 Zinc - Small strips from chemistry set. 36 Krypton - Krypton flashlight bulb. 47 Silver - 1 oz silver coin. 50 Tin - Tin fishing weights. 51 Antimony - 50 Gram chunk, from Metallium. 52 Tellurium - 10 grams, mostly powder. 54 Xenon - Xenon flashlight bulb. 73 Tantalum - Piece of tantalum foil. 79 Gold - 1/20 oz gold coin. 82 Lead - Fishing weights, small strips from chemistry set. 83 Bismuth - 10 gram pellet from Metallium. Getting soon: 12 Magnesium - Disk from United Nuclear. 14 Silicon - Vial from United Nuclear. 24 Chromium - 100 grams of chromium pieces. 27 Cobalt - Chunk from United Nuclear. 31 Gallium - 20 Gram portion. 49 Indium - 10 gram piece. 80 Mercury - Several mercury thermometers. Also, I do have a question: If the ampoule were to rupture, would 300 mg of bromine be a serious hazard? link removed Moderator note: please do not post links to commercial sites. yes bromine would be a very large hazard. Halogens are very reactive (and toxic) I would store those ampules in a soft container maybe filled with polyestrine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessek Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 As an idea, You can also get zinc from lantern battery cell casingsand get some magneese dioxide in the process. Also, phosphorus can be obtained from matchboxes. This is just an idea for anyone looking at this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRadiochemist Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Hydrogen- Thryrotron switch, electrolysis on saltwater Helium- Balloon filling tank Lithium- Battery Beryllium- Old missile gyroscopes (or eBay) Boron- Boric acid, you can easily extract boron from it Carbon- Pencil graphite Nitrogen- liquid nitrogen is commonly available for cooling things Oxygen- Disposable oxygen tanks are commercially available, or use electrolysis to make your own from saltwater Fluorine- Special types of bleach Neon- Neon sign made with ACTUAL NEON Sodium- You can order this through amazon, or you can separate it from salt if you are a particularly skilled chemist Magnesium- Powder is commonly available for burning, solid blocks are available for shaving into ribbons for fire starters Aluminum- Aluminum foil, or solid blocks are commonly available for light weight testers Silicon- Computer chips and laser diode filament Phosphorus- MATCHES!!! Sulfur- 90% sulfur is available in garden centers for fertilizers Chlorine- See Sodium, or make your own from bleach, or if you work in a pool you might have a powder based form of nearly pure chlorine Argon- Wine oxidation preventives. Contact me for more element info 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koti Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Hydrogen- Thryrotron switch, electrolysis on saltwater Helium- Balloon filling tank Lithium- Battery Beryllium- Old missile gyroscopes (or eBay) Boron- Boric acid, you can easily extract boron from it Carbon- Pencil graphite Nitrogen- liquid nitrogen is commonly available for cooling things Oxygen- Disposable oxygen tanks are commercially available, or use electrolysis to make your own from saltwater Fluorine- Special types of bleach Neon- Neon sign made with ACTUAL NEON Sodium- You can order this through amazon, or you can separate it from salt if you are a particularly skilled chemist Magnesium- Powder is commonly available for burning, solid blocks are available for shaving into ribbons for fire starters Aluminum- Aluminum foil, or solid blocks are commonly available for light weight testers Silicon- Computer chips and laser diode filament Phosphorus- MATCHES!!! Sulfur- 90% sulfur is available in garden centers for fertilizers Chlorine- See Sodium, or make your own from bleach, or if you work in a pool you might have a powder based form of nearly pure chlorine Argon- Wine oxidation preventives. Contact me for more element info Some of these I had no idea about, very informative and interesting to a chemical layman like myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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