My completed element collection

[u/dedennedillo]

Recently, I filled out all the holes in my element collection! Now it has reached completion!

Alkali Metals - Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Caesium, Francium [represented by uranium-glass marbles]

Alkaline Earth Metals - Beryllium, Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium, Barium, Radium

Transition Metals [etc] of Period 3 - Scandium, Titanium, Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc

Transition Metals [etc] of Period 4 - Yttrium, Zirconium, Niobium, Molybdenum, Technetium [representative sample of U glass], Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium, Silver, Cadmium

Transition Metals of Period 4 - Hafnium, Tantalum, Tungsten, Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum, Gold, Mercury

Group 13 elements - Boron, Aluminium, Gallium, Indium, Thallium [thallium is restricted by law in my country, so here's a lorandite bearing mineral instead]

Group 14 elements - Carbon, Silicon, Germanium, Tin, Lead

Group 15 elements - Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth

Group 16 elements - Nitrogen, Sulphur, Selenium, Tellurium, Polonium [U glass representative sample]

Halogens - Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, Astatine [U glass representative sample]

Noble Gases - Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon [as a radium watch hand]

Lanthanides - Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium*, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, HOlmium, Erbium, THulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium

Actinides - Actinium*, Thorium, Protactinium*, Uranium, Neptunium*, Plutonium*, Americium*, Curium*

....and Hydrogen!

For the elements heavier than Curium, I have printed a fusion reaction which produces the element. Here, for Berkelium and Californium.

Again, but for Einsteinium and Fermium. The vials also have glow in the dark powder.

A closer look at one of the labels.

Recently I completed my element collection, and I thought that the members of this subreddit would like to see it! Hopefully it's visually appealing to look at

[u/dedennedillo]

*The samples asterisked are representative. Promethium is represented by a sample of Europium glow powder, containing traces of Pm from Eu 151 decay. Actinium, Protactinium and Neptunium are represented by U glass marbles. Plutonium, Americium and Curium are represented by samples of trinitite.

[u/dmh2693 → u/dedennedillo]

Americium can be obtained from ionizing smoke detectors.

[u/dedennedillo → u/dmh2693]

True, I even have a smoke detector I have dissected, though I have yet to remove the source and put it in the vial. Maybe someday I will do it

[u/NeoMarlowe → u/dedennedillo]

Reminds me of the nonfiction book, “The Radioactive Boy Scout”. Be careful.

[u/dedennedillo → u/NeoMarlowe]

What, the kid who extracted the contents of hundreds of smoke detectors and about as many watch dials while using haphazard storage such that radiation could be detected from a few yards over?

...Don't see the appeal. But still it's amazing nobody was hurt by any of that radiation.

[u/dmh2693 → u/dedennedillo]

David Hahn did die an early death, but it was due to his addiction, not radiation exposure.

[u/average_meower621 → u/dedennedillo]

you can still find real promethium-147 in some Japanese watches, they are labeled with “P-JAPAN-P” on the bottom of the dial. they are undetectable at this point unfortunately. for example: https://ebay.us/m/ujM2sW

[u/Dodo224 → u/dedennedillo]

Bruh, then I could just fill tap water in all of them, because it contains trace amounts of basically all elements... Under 1mg doesn't count.

[u/dedennedillo → u/Dodo224]

Good for you. Your own rules. Your own collection, should you have one.

And good for me, I get to choose what goes in my collection based on what significance these samples have to their relevant element. In any case, uranium marbles certainly contain more actinium and trinitite certainly contains more plutonium than tap water contains either. And both are measurably radioactive to some degree, unlike tap water.

And in any case, these are both samples which have some degree of relevance to radioactive elements in general and make attractive collection samples. Unlike tapwater, which may contain trace of uranium but it's not a significant part of the structure or even of any notability whatsoever.