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So in this video I’ll talk about a very interesting metal – bismuth. Bismuth is a heavy metal and in the periodic table of chemical elements is located next to the Lead.
Bismuth is a shiny and very brittle metal. I bought bismuth in these sticks which are very easy to break if you slightly hit them with a hammer.
The breaking point shows that bismuth rod has a very clear crystal structure. Now I will melt it to show you one interesting property of bismuth.
Bismuth’s melting point is 271 degrees Celsius, so it can even be melted on a hot plate. And unlike lead, bismuth is not toxic.
Bismuth’s surprising property is that it starts to form beautiful crystals during solidification. The size and shape of the crystals will be dependent on the solidification rate, as well as the presence of impurities.
My bismuth’s purity is only 97.2%, so turning it into large crystals will be problematic. Once bismuth is melted, I turn the hot plate off and wait until the bismuth will gradually harden.
Bismuth’s solidification rate can be reduced by heating in a sand bath or by using a thick-walled container. The slower the cooling, the higher and more beautiful crystals will be obtained.
Furthermore, you need to make sure to remove the cover from the crystals in time, which is formed on the top of solidifying metal. At some point later, around the time when a third of bismuth is crystallised you would need to drain the liquid metal to expose the beautiful crystals.
To avoid burns and injuries, do not repeat this experiment!
If this was a pure bismuth, the hot crystals on air would have begun to cover with a beautiful oxide film.
However, my bismuth has a lot of lead impurities and on air the film of oxides does not form. To make the crystals colorful I’ll apply a current of pure oxygen on our hot crystals.
I get the oxygen from the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide. When bismuth contacts pure hot oxygen, it is covered with colored patterns caused by the oxide film on the metal surface.
Once the cup with crystals is cooled, those can be removed. The crystals obtained are not very big, however with a beautiful oxide film.
I made several attempts to grow larger crystals, but every time I got only polycrystalline aggregates of small bismuth crystals.
I think the problem is in the impurities. As it is known, the purer the material, the more beautiful and larger the crystals are obtained.
Bismuth and its compounds have many uses.
It is used as a component of some alloys, aldo bismuth oxide is used in organic synthesis and in medicine as a remedy for gastrointestinal diseases, other bismuth compounds are used in nuclear power engineering, electrical engineering as well as for the creation of magnetic materials and superconductors.
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(@JulianAssange)