CHEMICAL MAGIC -- SOME SELECTED DEMONSTRATIONS

Ford, L.  Chemical Magic.  New York: Dover Books, 1993.

This book is 109 pages in length (paperback version published by Dover Books).

This is a somewhat dated book containing suggestions for chemical demonstrations with a “doing magic” theme.  Despite the plethora of you tube videos out there, it is refreshing to get a hold of a classic book that gives a compendium of these popular demonstrations.

Some of these are indeed very interesting and fun to do but may require some modifications.  Some of the demonstrations given in this book make use of chemicals and chemical handling procedures and exposure that probably would not pass muster against our stricter regulations on the storage, handling, and use of chemicals.  There are some very classic demonstrations that I am going to try and perhaps adopt but I am mostly keen on using chemicals that are household items and also do not require any special handling or waste disposal, easy and not expensive to acquire, and, of course, safe to use in a regular lecture classroom.

  

In the beginning of the book, the author recommends some tips on how to put on an effective, engaging, and enjoyable chemical magic show.

Although the description of each demonstration is brief, it is well-organized.  For each demo, the author organizes the information into “Action” (what the audience will observe), “You Need” (the chemicals, glassware, and equipment), “Why” (a chemical explanation of how the “magic” works), “How” (directions on how to carry out the magic demonstration), and “Suggestions” (tips to make the demo more effective, alternate chemicals or steps, safety precautions, etc.).  For many of the demonstrations, the author offers an illustration for the more complicated set-ups.  The safety precautions are lacking, however, or perhaps not adapted to the current regulations.

Below are some of the demonstrations I might try doing in my class.  (Note: these descriptions are copied verbatim from the book.)

DEMONSTRATION 1:

Patriotic Colors

Action: From a bottle you pour a liquid into each of three beakers standing on a demonstration table. You produce the colors red, white and blue.  

You Need: Solution of alcohol containing phenolphthalein in the first beaker; concentrated lead nitrate in the second beaker; and concentrated copper sulfate in the third beaker. The bottle contains dilute ammonium hydroxide.

Why: The action of ammonium hydroxide with the reagents in the beakers produces color changes. In the first beaker, the color change is due to an indicator. Double displacement occurs in the second and a complex ion is formed in the third.

How: A few drops of reagent in each beaker is sufficient. The intensity of the color depends on the number of drops of reagent used.   Suggestions: The demonstration has good audience response. It is quite foolproof, and effective with good lighting.

DEMONSTRATION 2:

Water to Milk to Water

Action: Three quart milk bottles are standing on the table. The first appears to be half full of water. The others appear to be empty. You pour the water from the first into the second, changing the water to milk, and the milk formed in the second is poured into the third bottle. Milk formed in the second appears to change to water in the third.  

You Need: Distilled water to make up solutions. In the first bottle; solution of 1 gram calcium chloride in 500 ml. water. In the second bottle; solution of 0.2 gram ammonium oxalate in 10 ml. water. In the third bottle; 5 ml. concentrated sulfuric acid.  

Why: White insoluble calcium oxalate is formed when the first solution is poured into the second. This precipitate dissolves on pouring it into the third bottle.  

Suggestions: This demonstration can also be done by the use of calcium oxide, sodium carbonate and concentrated hydrochloric acid. Place one gram calcium oxide in 500 ml. of water. Stir and filter. This clear solution is placed in the first bottle. In the second bottle place 0.5 gram sodium carbonate in a little water. In the third you place a few mls. of concentrated hydrochloric acid. Pouring the clear limewater which is in the first bottle into the second results in a white precipitate of calcium carbonate. Pouring the contents of the second bottle into the third results in a clear solution since the solid material then dissolves. Milk can be made to appear to come from water by the use of barium chloride and concentrated sulfuric acid. Dissolve barium chloride in 500 ml. of water in the first bottle. Pour this clear solution into the second bottle containing the acid. An insoluble white precipitate forms which resembles milk.

DEMONSTRATION 3:

Fast Rusting

Action: A colored liquid rises in a long glass tube attached to an inverted liter flask filled with steel wool. In ten or fifteen minutes the liquid will ascend into the flask and continue to rise for an hour.  

You Need: Steel wool; liter flask with one-hole rubber stopper and three feet of glass tubing; crystal of potassium permanganate; dilute hydrochloric acid.  

Why: Oxygen, combining with iron in steel wool, produces partial vacuum in a flask.  

How: Over a mass of steel wool about one liter in volume, pour dilute acid and rinse in tap water. Push this moist steel wool into a one-liter flask. To the flask attach three feet of glass tubing by means of the one-hole rubber stopper. Suspend the arrangement with the flask inverted on a high ring stand over a beaker containing water colored with the potassium permanganate.  

Suggestions: The acid is used to remove rust from the steel wool. The metal with its great surface is oxidized removing oxygen from the air in the flask, resulting in a partial vacuum. This causes the liquid to rise. The acid treatment should be done shortly before the demonstration since the steel wool oxidizes rapidly after cleaning.

DEMONSTRATION 4:

Wonder Picture

Action: You decide to paint a picture of someone in the audience so you take a sheet of drawing paper and proceed to paint the face of a person. You have two paint pots with a brush in each. The face is painted with one brush and the hair with another. The picture is faint pink and you proceed to warm it over a flame. The face becomes a deep bluish green and the hair a deep violet.  

You Need: A few crystals of hydrated cobaltous chloride dissolved in water in the first paint pot and a few crystals of hydrated cobaltous acetate dissolved in water in the second paint pot.

DEMONSTRATION 5:

Acid Breath

Action: You blow your breath through a straw into a beaker of pink liquid. The liquid turns colorless in a minute or so.  

You Need: Soft drink straw; 250 ml. beaker, half filled with water; 2 to 3 drops phenolphthalein solution; one drop 6 molar sodium hydroxide.  

Why: Carbon dioxide from the breath dissolves in the basic solution, neutralizing it, and turns the indicator colorless.  

How: Add the indicator and the sodium hydroxide to the water and stir. This forms a basic solution which turns the indicator faint pink.  

Suggestion: Do not use too much sodium hydroxide or the carbon dioxide will not be able to neutralize the base and the color will not change.

DEMONSTRATION 6:

Educated Moth Balls

Action: Little white balls rise and fall in a tall cylinder while spectators are trying to guess the reason for the fascinating motion.  

You Need: Ten grams marble chips; five grams ordinary salt; dilute hydrochloric acid; moth balls; tall cylinder or beaker; food coloring.  

Why: Carbon dioxide gas accumulates on each moth ball. In time the gas bubbles will have sufficient buoyancy to lift the moth ball to the surface. Loss of gas at the surface causes the moth balls to sink. This movement continues for hours or days.

DEMONSTRATION 7:

Oxygen in Air

Action: An empty inverted water glass rests on a dish of water. Over a period of several hours water rises in the glass and eventually occupies one-fifth of its volume.  

You Need: Small wad of steel wool; vinegar.  

Why: To show that air is one-fifth oxygen.   How: Pour vinegar over the steel wool and wedge it into the base of the water glass. Invert over the dish containing water. Rusting of the iron slowly removes the oxygen as the water level rises. A similar, more striking experiment is the one entitled “Fast Rusting.”

DEMONSTRATION 8:

Boiling Water in Paper

Action: Water is heated to the boiling point in a box-like paper container placed on a screen. The screen supported by a ring stand is above a Bunsen burner.  

You Need: Sheet of typewriter paper; four paper clips or Scotch tape; ring stand; ring; screen.  

Why: Conduction of heat through the paper is seen to increase the temperature of water to the boiling point.  

How: Fold typewriter (or stronger) paper about two inches inward from four directions and fasten the ends together with paper clips or Scotch tape. The base of this box-like container will be about 6 × 4 inches. Pour in about 200 ml. of water.  

Suggestions: An interesting variation of the experiment is to boil water in a paper bag. Water in contact with the paper absorbs the heat, keeping the temperature low enough to prevent combustion of the paper. Water is heated slowly in these experiments since paper is a very poor conductor of heat.

DEMONSTRATION 9:

Cold Boiling

Action: A flask of water is boiling on a ring stand mount. The flask is removed, quickly stoppered, and placed under a cold water tap. The water in the flask continues to boil furiously for several minutes.  

You Need: One liter spherical flask (Pyrex); ring stand and clamp; rubber stopper.  

Why: When boiling the flask is full of steam which rapidly condenses under cold water. At reduced pressure the water will boil at lower temperature.

RARE -- CHAPTER 16 -- GOING THE DISTANCE (THE END)

CHAPTER 16 – GOING THE DISTANCE

In this chapter, the author presents current knowledge about the potential of harvesting rare earth elements from outside the earth.  As background, the author offers the following short history of element creation:  Moments after the big bang, only the lightest elements hydrogen, helium, lithium, and a small amount of beryllium were present.  As the universe expanded and stars formed, carbon atoms all the way to iron atoms were formed by collisions under intense heat, gravity, and the high density of atoms in the core of stars.  The creation terminated at iron because iron requires input of energy to undergo fusion.  As more iron atoms fused, it took away energy from its surroundings thus cooling of the core began “initiating a death spiral”.  This death spiral was followed by contraction of the stars which led to the creation of most elements on the periodic table.   Ownership and claims of extraterrestrial property are nebulous at best.  While selling parcels of the moon have been documented but not legitimized, a current object on the moon left by a Russian space mission, the Soviet lunar rover Lunokhod 2, has been successfully auctioned by the Russians, one of close to 75 man-made objects on the moon’s surface.  The moon surface is called regolith, a thin layer of soil containing metals.  Analysis shows not a large quantity of desired metals although it is rich in helium-3 that NASA is considering as a clean energy source, able to undergo two safe and efficient fusion reactions without producing radioactive waste.   Regolith has also been shown to be capable of being molded into structural material.  On the other hand, asteroids recovered on earth (meteorites) show that they are mostly made of iron and nickel.  In 4 billion year old extraterrestrial rock samples analyzed in Greenland, scientists found different concentrations of tungsten and neodymium compared to terrestrial rocks on the surface.  This suggests that asteroids composed mostly of iron and nickel may have small quantities of gold, tungsten, and other scarce “iron-loving” metals, which may have been an extraterrestrial source for the earth’s own supply after numerous collisions in the past.  Cash values have been assigned to some of the cataloged asteroids with the material in 4034 Vishnu and 2000 BM9 asteroids being valued at 20 trillion dollars each as mining targets.  In 2003, the Japanese launched the Hayabusa spacecraft to collect material for analysis from an asteroid circling the earth.  The Hayabusa was propelled by ion drive engines wherein xenon fuel atoms are ionized and the ions ejected in the opposite direction of the craft for propulsion.  It failed to collect samples except for those ending up on its surface due to the failure of the projectile launcher and sample collector.  They plan to launch a second mission by 2018 with space craft carrying the military-grade explosive cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine to help release samples from the asteroid.  Metals on asteroid surface are identified by telescopic reflectance spectroscopy which is used to compare reflectivity values measured off the asteroid surface with those of known minerals on the earth to determine the composition of the asteroid.  Asteroids are classified under the Tholen classification system depending on their predominant composition: s-type rocks are composed of mostly silicon compounds, c- type mostly of carbon and may carry water, and m-type may contain large amounts of metals like iron, nickel, and cobalt.  If extraterrestrial mining ever becomes feasible, the lowest hanging fruits are the asteroids.  While the moon has rare earth deposits, its thin atmosphere will require a large amount of energy to traverse.  Asteroids also do not have “nationalistic restrictions”.  Two possible propulsion systems described by the author to move the rock involve either using an ion drive thruster or ejecting broken pieces of the rock in the opposite direction.   These mining missions will most likely be unmanned as the cost of putting humans in space run upwards of $10,000/pound.  The author concludes that, “If the world runs out of rare metal resources, asteroids look to be an environmentally friendly but cost-prohibitive alternative with a slew of scientific roadblocks along the way.”

·         In this chapter, the author presents current knowledge about the potential of harvesting rare earth elements from outside the earth.

·         The author’s very short description of the theory of the creation of the elements:  Moments after the big bang, only the lightest elements hydrogen, helium, lithium, and a small amount of beryllium were present.  As the universe expanded and stars formed, carbon atoms all the way to iron atoms were formed by collisions under intense heat, gravity, and the high density of atoms in the core of stars.  Why did the formation terminate at iron?  Iron requires input of energy to undergo fusion.  As more iron atoms fused, it took away energy from its surroundings thus cooling of the core began “initiating a death spiral”.  This death spiral was followed by contraction of the stars which led to the creation of most elements on the periodic table.  “These elements, born out of the death of stars, are creations prized above all others after the basic building blocks of life like nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, and carbon are present and accounted for.”

·         Because of potential resources in these extraterrestrial regions, the author felt compelled to go into a mini-history of claims made on moon and Martian properties in the attempt to analyze who owns the moon and the planets and how this will be decided.

·         While selling parcels of the moon have been documented but not legitimized, a current object on the moon left by a Russian space mission, the Soviet lunar rover Lunokhod 2, has been successfully auctioned by the Russians.  There are close to 75 other spacecrafts on the surface of the moon.  Other Russians spacecraft have been sold off on acution.

·         The moon surface is called regolith, a thin layer of soil containing metals.  Analysis shows not a large quantity of desired metals.  Regolith is rich in helium-3 that NASA is considering as a clean energy source because of its ability to undergo two safe and efficient fusion reactions without the production of radioactive waste.  The sun is a source of helium-3 that lands on the moon and the planets.  Very little ends up on Earth because its magnetic field repels them away.

·         Regolith has also been shown to be capable of being molded into structural material.

·         Asteroids recovered on earth (meteorites) show that they are mostly made up of iron and nickel.  In 4 billion year old extraterrestrial rock samples analyzed in Greenland, scientists found different concentrations of tungsten and neodymium compared to terrestrial rocks on the surface.  This suggests that asteroids composed mostly of iron and nickel may have small quantities of gold, tungsten, and other scarce “iron-loving” metals, which may have been an extraterrestrial source for the earth’s own supply after numerous collisions in the past.

·         Cash values have been assigned to some of the cataloged asteroids with the material in 4034 Vishnu and 2000 BM9 asteroids being valued at 20 trillion dollars each as mining targets.

·         In 2003, the Japanese launched the Hayabusa spacecraft to collect material for analysis from an asteroid circling the earth.  The Hayabusa was propelled by ion drive engines wherein xenon fuel atoms are ionized and the ions ejected in the opposite direction of the craft for propulsion.  “This is the hybrid automobile approach to spaceflight, with only a small amount of xenon fuel necessary to move the Hayabusa along the desired contact route”.  The Hayabusa failed to collect samples except for those ending up on its surface due to the failure of the projectile launcher and sample collector.  They plan to launch a second mission by 2018 with space craft carrying the military-grade explosive cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine to help release samples from the asteroid.

·         Telescopic reflectance spectroscopy is used to compare reflectivity values measured off the asteroid surface with those of known minerals on the earth to determine the composition of the asteroid.

·         Asteroids are classified under the Tholen classification system as:

o   s-type – composed of mostly silicon compounds

o   c- type – composed mostly of carbon, may carry water

o   m-type – may contain large amounts of metals like iron, nickel, and cobalt, high reflectivity

·         If extraterrestrial mining ever becomes feasible, the lowest hanging fruits are the asteroids.  While the moon has rare earth deposits, its thin atmosphere will require a large amount of to traverse.  Asteroids also do not have “nationalistic restrictions”.

·         The author presents some images of how asteroids can be mined.  One possibility is to tow it closer to the earth using ion-drive thrusters (it propels objects by ejecting charged atoms of hydrogen, bismuth, and xenon).  Another possibility is a device that breaks up the asteroid and then ejecting broken pieces in the direction opposite where the asteroid is meant to go. 

·         These mining missions will most likely be unmanned as the cost of putting humans in space run upwards of $10,000/pound.

RARE -- CHAPTER 15 -- WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY

CHAPTER 15 -- WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY

In this chapter, the author summarizes where some of the potential new sources of rare earth metals may come from as the “well starts to run dry”.  The first place he pointed to is Antarctica.  The 1961 Atlantic Treaty fortified by the 1991 Madrid Protocol currently disallows any mining operations for profit on the continent.  It is known, however, from scientific explorations, that this ice-covered land mass has deposits of coal, natural gas, petroleum, gold, rare earth metals, and diamonds.  The next possible major new source could be Greenland.  In 2013, its parliament lifted a two-and-a-half decade ban on the mining of radioactive materials in the country, freeing up mining for rare earth metals which has not been possible before because of the presence of radioactive uranium in rare earth metals ores.  Early studies estimate the amount of rare earth metals to be enough to supply a quarter of the world needs in the next 50 years.  The author uses recent events in Greenland as a possible foretelling of how resource acquisition may proceed if the embargo on Antarctic exploration and extraction is lifted.  Along with metal ores, Greenland also has natural gas and oil reserves underneath its landmass 80%Vof which is covered in an ice sheet a few meters to 2 kilometers thick.  Any technology being used in Greenland to extract these deposits will be useful if Antarctica is opened up.

Outside of the potential for rare earths in Greenland and Antarctica, it is uncertain where else new deposits may exist.  One possible source is red mud waste in Jamaica.  A “fair” amount of rare earth metals may exist in Jamaica’s bauxite (an aluminum ore) waste red mud, a slurry of left-over metals and particulates from refining of bauxite.  The author argues that processing of red mud for its rare earth metal content would not result in significant new environmental impacts because the red mud can simply be re-pumped into the same holding tanks.  Thus, it could create a “’net good’ by making use of the stagnant waste to quench some of the world’s thirst for rare metals and possibly provide Jamaica with a revenue stream”.  In late 2013, a joint venture between the Jamaican government and a Japanese company opened a small red mud processing plant which Japan providing the cost for buildings and operating expenses.   Japan is also turning to the ocean floor to find deposits of rare earth metals.  Polymetallic nodules (size of a baseball) are known to inhabit the ocean floor, the largest amounts at depths of 2-3 miles.  These contain mostly manganese, some copper and cobalt, and small amounts of 11 of the 17 rare earth metals.  Efforts to extract these may rely on current underwater extraction technology for diamonds used by the de Beers Company.  According to the author, Japan’s motivation primarily arises from fear that China will withhold exports of rare earth metals.  The author concludes that underwater mining will face huge environmental resistance.  India is also studying the viability of mining polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor of the Indian Ocean.

·         In the beginning of the chapter, the author brings up the question of stewardship of Antactica and its potential vast resources.

·         The Atlantic Treaty of 1961 was the first modern agreement among countries banning military activity on its landmass and establishing a pro-science atmosphere of studying its unique environment.  In 1991, the Madrid Protocol strengthened agreements for the protection of its natural resources, mitigating and remediating waste buildup, and preventing exploration or mining for profit.  The Madrid Protocol comes up for renewal in 2048.

·         There are 12 [the book states 13, repeating Norway] countries currently laying claim to areas of Antarctica or are reserving the right to lay claim to an area as covered by the original provisions of the 1960 Antarctic Treaty:  UK, New Zealand, France, Norway, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Russia, South Africa, and the US.  Australia lays the largest claim, about 42% of the entire continent.

·         At the time of writing:  there are over 50 international research stations and 4000 in-house scientists including 3,000 sent by the US on the continent.

·         These scientific explorations have detected deposits of coal, natural gas, petroleum, gold, rare earth metals, and diamonds.

·         Greenland, straddling the Arctic Circle, is the biggest island in the world and has the lowest density population of 60,000.  In 2013, its parliament lifted a two-and-a-half decade ban on the mining of radioactive materials in the country, freeing up mining for rare earth metals which has not been possible before because of the presence of radioactive uranium in rare earth metals ores.  Early studies estimate the amount of rare earth metals to be enough to supply a quarter of the world needs in the next 50 years. 

·         The author uses recent events in Greenland as a possible foretelling of how resource acquisition may proceed if the embargo on Antarctic exploration and extraction is lifted.  Along with metal ores, Greenland also has natural gas and oil reserves underneath its landmass 80%Vof which is covered in an ice sheet a few meters to 2 kilometers thick.  Any technology being used in Greenland to extract these deposits will be useful if Antarctica is opened up.

·         Outside of the potential for rare earths in Greenland and Antarctica, it is uncertain where else new deposits may exist.  Some possibilities:

·         A “fair” amount of rare earth metals may exist in Jamaica’s bauxite (an aluminum ore) waste red mud (really a slurry of left-over metals and particulates from refining of bauxite).  This waste product is created from the Bayer process which separates aluminum containing compounds by mixing sodium hydroxide with crushed bauxite.  Red mud also contains iron (thus red) and titanium and small amounts of scandium and other rare earth metals.  The high acidic pH of red mud makes the area where the waste is stored unusable for farming or habitation.  To lower the pH, ocean water is mixed with the red mud, with the calcium and sodium salts reacting with the metal compounds in the slurry.  [calcium by precipitating hydroxides? Not sure about what sodium salts are being referred to; has to be acidic.]  The author argues that processing of red mud for its rare earth metal content would not result in significant new environmental impacts because the red mud can simply be re-pumped into the same holding tanks.  Thus, it could create a “’net good’ by making use of the stagnant waste to quench some of the world’s thirst for rare metals and possibly provide Jamaica with a revenue stream”.  In late 2013, a joint venture between the Jamaican government and a Japanese company opened a small red mud processing plant which Japan providing the cost for buildings and operating expenses.  Other countries that might benefit from a similar venture if successful are Australia, Vietnam, and West Africa’s Republic of Guinea.

·         Japan is turning to the ocean floor to find deposits of rare earth metals.  Polymetallic nodules (size of a baseball) are known to inhabit the ocean floor, the largest amounts at depths of 2-3 miles.  These contain mostly manganese, some copper and cobalt, and small amounts of 11 of the 17 rare earth metals.  It takes a million years for each nodule to grow half an inch in diameter.  Efforts to extract these may rely on current underwater extraction technology for diamonds used by the de Beers Company.  According to the author, Japan’s motivation primarily arises from fear that China will withhold exports of rare earth metals.  The author concludes that underwater mining will face huge environmental resistance.

·         India is also studying the viability of mining polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor of the Indian Ocean.

RARE -- CHAPTER 13 -- LITTLE SILVER

CHAPTER 13 – LITTLE SILVER

In this chapter, the author provides some history as to the discovery and development of the uses of platinum.  The discovery of platinum is attributed to two men in two different times of history.  One of these men, Antonio de Uloa, a Spanish naval officer on a French exploration in Peru and Ecuador, in the mid-18^thcentury observed and wrote about silver and gold miners and metal workers throwing back an unwanted contaminant metal referred to as platina del Pinto or little silver of the Pinto River.  In 1557, the 16^th century Italian physician Julius Caesar Scaliger wrote of “puzzling metal, one that no fire or familiar could liquefy” in a detailed account of an expedition to Central America.  The oldest relic containing platinum dates back to 700 BCE in the form of sarcophagus.  Charles Wood is credited for developing and promoting uses of platinum based on its stable properties in the mid 1700’s.  Six decades later, the scientists William Hyde Wollaston and Smithson Tennant, introduced the mainstream use of platinum to make laboratory equipment that is stable even under harsh physical and chemical conditions.  Platinum’s inertness prompted France to use a platinum bar one meter in length as the universal standard of length in the metric system.

Another interesting relic mentioned in the book (although it was not mentioned whether it contained any platinum) is the Lycurgus Cup.  Its glass structure has the unique chromatic properties of appearing green when light reflects from inside the bowl-like opening and blood red when it reflects off the relief from the outside.  After analysis by GE, it was found that the cup was formed from glass into which ground metal particles of gold and silver were intentionally incorporated.  Current theory suggests that color-changing effect is due to the presence of nanosize particles of gold.  Nanometer size particles of gold (30 nanometers in diameter) in a colloidal mixture have been observed to appear reddish-orange in color.  As the diameter of the colloidal particles increase slightly, a purple hue is observed.  It is also thought that these nano-properties chromatic properties of gold combines with the phenomenon of dichroism which causes the color of an object to change depended on the position of the light source relative to the object being observed.

·         Platinum was not “properly identified” until 250 years ago unlike gold and silver which have been held in high value for thousands of years.

·         The author devotes several paragraphs describing the two “discoverers” of platinum:

o   Antonio de Uloa, a Spanish naval officer on a French exploration in Peru and Ecuador, in the mid-18^th century observed miners and metal workers mining for silver and gold throwing back a metal referred to as platina del Pinto or little silver of the Pinto River.  These unwanted silver and black particles were described as metal that “would not melt in the heat of a kiln” and “if introduced to molten gold, the particulates would discolor the final purified ingot and lower the value in the eyes of prospective purchasers”.  Needless to say, the mining of platinum was not developed during that time and it remained unvalued until its rediscovery years later.

o   16^th century Italian physician and scholar Julius Caesar Scaliger wrote in 1557 of a “puzzling metal, one that no fire or familiar could liquefy” in a detailed account of an expedition to Central America.  Although his notation of the metal preceded that of Uloa, the author contends that “the connection to metal working was not apparent from his writing, nor did he lend a name to the metal”.

·         General use of the metal has been dated back to artifacts found in Thebes in Egypt in the hieroglyphic inlays of a sarcophagus dating back to 700 BCE, the Casket of Thebes, composed of platinum, gold, and silver.

·         The Lycurgus Cup is a relic of interest from the Roman Empire.  Its glass structure has the unique chromatographic properties of appearing green when light reflects from inside the bowl-like opening and blood red when it reflects off the relief from the outside.  After analysis by GE, it was found that the cup was formed from glass into which ground metal particles of gold and silver were intentionally incorporated.  Current theory suggests that color-changing effect is due to the presence of nanosize particles of gold.  Nanometer size particles of gold (30 nanometers in diameter) in a colloidal mixture have been observed to appear reddish-orange in color.  As the diameter of the colloidal particles increase slightly, a purple hue is observed.  It is also thought that these nano-properties chromatic properties of gold combines with the phenomenon of dichroism which causes the color of an object to change depended on the position of the light source relative to the object being observed.

·         While Uloa and Scaliger are important names associated with platinum, Charles Wood contributed to promotion of the use of platinum based on “ its uniquely stable characteristics”.  In 1741, he introduced the metal to the scientific community which accepted it as the 8^th known metal, the first to be added since ancient times (hitherto, there were iron, gold, silver, tin, mercury, lead, and copper), giving it the nickname “white gold”.

·         Six decades later, the scientists Willam Hyde Wollaston and Smithson Tennant, introduced the mainstream use of platinum to make laboratory equipment that benefit from its stable property even under harsh physical and chemical conditions.  Its inertness prompted France to use a platinum bar one meter in length as the universal standard of length in the metric system.

RARE -- CHAPTER 14 -- THE NEXT PRECIOUS METALS

CHAPTER 14 – THE NEXT PRECIOUS METALS

In this chapter, the author looks at the next generation of rare and scarce metals (and possible replacements) whose rapidly evolving use may one day earn them the distinction of the next precious metals.  In the section the Department of Defense’s lust for beryllium, the author presents the case for the critical importance of high-purity beryllium in times of protracted military engagement.  Beryllium is used as the lightweight structural metal used for frames in 5 US fighter crafts; as copper-beryllium alloys used in many electrical systems in manned craft and drones, x-ray and radar equipment for identifying bombs, guided missiles, and improvised explosive devices (IED’s); and in mirrors used in the visual and optical systems of tanks because beryllium makes the mirrors resistant to vibrational distortion.  High-purity beryllium is worth $0.5 million/ton.  A private corporation, Materion in Ohio, provides the DoD 2/3 of its plant output.  Germany and Kazakhstan are the only two significant sources of imported beryllium for the US. 

Next on the list is lanthanum, which has been widely used in in welding equipment, camping lamps, movie theater projectors, and, more recently, as a key component of nickel-metal hydride batteries found in electronic devices and batteries including electric car batteries.  Although, not as rare as other metals, its complicated separation and extraction process makes it less available than others.  The need for lanthanum is prjected to keep increasing due to its use in the growing market for electric cars:  Toyota Prius batteries already require about 20 lb lanthanum and 2 lb neodymium per car.  Lanthanum is also used in car batteries for the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Motors’ Roadster. 

The next metal, thorium, is a radioactive metal typically found in ores processed form rare earth metals.  It has been used in handheld gas lamps and as additive in class manufacturing until it was deemed too dangerous for close-quarter use due to its radioactivity.  Thorium used in lamp mantles has been replaced by yttrium.  Thorium is being billed as a possible safer alternative to uranium for generating electrical power in nuclear reactors.  In a thorium reactor, a small amount of uranium will be used to initiate the nuclear reaction in thorium fluoride salt.  The first thorium reactor built in the US was in the military town of Oak Ridge, TN which ran between 1965-1969.  Using a thorium mixture to power nuclear reactors has the added advantage of containing the powerful gamma emitter thallium-208, exposure to which can be deadly.  This provides a deterrent to theft of thorium as manufacturing a bomb from it will require heavy-duty shielding to prevent detection of the intensely radioactive thallium-208 signature.  Some disadvantages of a thorium nuclear power plant:  its nuclear reactions do not create weapons-grade waste by-products, requires more vigilant monitoring because of production of dangerous amounts of xenon gas.  China is on-track for constructing a thorium reactor for large-scale energy production.  India is exploring it as well.

Neodymium is the most widely used permanent magnet (does not lose its magnetic properties): in hard drives, wind turbines, purse button clasps, superconductors, etc.  Niobium is also used as a magnet in safety implements, electronic, tiny speakers, implantable devices like pacemakers because of its hypoallergenic properties, and superconductors.  Superconductors are used in particle accelerators; the CERN Large Hadron Collider used in search of the Higgs Particle used superconductors made from niobium-titanium alloy magnets. These strong permanent magnets are also used in maglev trains in China and Japan.  This type of technology is being considered to construct vertical tracks for a magnetic field-launch propulsion system that can propel cargo at very high speeds to enable it to escape the earth’s gravitational attraction.  This is projected to cost 1% of the estimated cost of other systems.  Potential uses of strong permanent magnets in biology in creating three-dimensional cell cultures have also been explored:  bacteria can be coated with magnetic nanoparticles and suspended in space in the presence of a neodymium magnet so that their growth and proliferation in 3-dimensional space can be observed (in contrast to the 2-dimensional world of a petri dish).  This is expected to resemble tissue construction more closely.

Hafnium is a rarely used metal whose weaponizable property has been investigated in the last two decades.  The basis for considering the possibility of building hafnium explosives was an experiment in which hafnium-178 was observed to emit gamma rays after being exposed to an x-ray beam produced using a dental x-ray equipment.  The theory suggests that the intense x-ray beam provided a trigger for the energy stored in the hafnium atoms to be released in a “quick flood” in contrast with the slow release over its 31-year half-life through normal decay.  Extrapolations from results of this experiment suggest that an ounce of single hafnium can release enough energy to boil 120 tons of room temperature water.  The main body appointed by the US government to investigate the results came out with a critical report in 1997, citing insufficient experimental evidence.  The weaponizable promise of hafnium lies in the small amount needed to release a lot of energy at one time and the use of a fairly easily accessible and portable dental x-ray machine.  In addition to hafnium, nuclear isomers of tantalum, osmium, and platinum exist that are potential candidates for induced gamma emission.

Of the 17 rare earth metals, there are eight that 8 that cannot be produced in the US in usable amounts because there are no known deposits in the US: Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Europium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, and Lutetium.  In the section on graphene, the author presents some promising experimental data suggesting the value of this newly discovered material as a possible replacement for many metals.  Graphene is an extremely thin material made from a single layer of carbon atoms hexagonally bonded to each other.  It has considerable strength as a material stronger than steel and approximating that of diamond.  It is also a very good electrical conductor.  While not a metal, it may one day prove to be a more easily acquired replacement for rare and scarce metals. The problem of large-scale production appears close to being solved when the Advanced Institute of Technology in Korea published a synthetic method using germanium to produce uniform sheets suitable for large-scale production.  Some of the potential applications for graphene include aircraft bodies, large-scale water desalination, super-efficient transistors, radioactive waste disposal, condoms, and other strong, lightweight materials that can be manufactured using a 3-D printer.

·          “Humankind’s history of mining and cherishing gold reaches back to about 4600 BCE.”  The earliest evidence of the high value placed on gold (above iron, lead or other metals in use at the same time) is the inclusion of gold trinkets in graves found in Bulgaria’s Varna Necropolis.

·         In this chapter, the author looks at the next generation of rare and scarce metals whose rapidly evolving use may one day earn them the distinction of the next precious metals.

·         THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’S LUST FOR BERYLLIUM

·         8 of the 17 rare metals that cannot be produced in the US in usable amounts because there are no known deposits in the US:

o   Terbium

o   Dysprosium

o   Holmium

o   Europium

o   Erbium

o   Thulium

o   Ytterbium

o   Lutetium

·         High-purity beryllium has been considered by the US Department of Defense as a critical metal in time of a protracted military engagement.

·         Beryllium is used in the following applications:

o   Lightweight structural metal used for frames in 5 US fighter craft

o   Copper-beryllium alloys are used in many electrical systems in manned craft and drones, x-ray and radar equipment for identifying bombs, guided missiles, and improvised explosive devices (IED’s)

o   Mirrors used in the visual and optical systems of tanks because beryllium makes the mirrors resistant to vibrational distortion.

·         High-purity beryllium is worth $0.5 million/ton.  A private corporation, Materion in Ohio, provides the DoD 2/3 of its plant output.  Germany and Kazakhstan are the only two significant sources of imported beryllium for the US.

·         LANTHANUM AND THE ELECTRIC CAR

·         Uses of lanthanum:

o   In welding equipment

o   Lamps used for camping

o   In movie theater projectors

o   Key component of nickel-metal hydride

·         Not as rare as the other rare metals but it is more complicated to separate and extract limiting its availability

·          The need for lanthanum is just going to keep increasing: Toyota Prius batteries already require about 20 lb lanthanum and 2 lb neodymium per car.  Lanthanum is also used in car batteries for the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Motors’ Roadster.

·         GRAPHENE

·         Graphene is an extremely thin material made from a single layer of carbon atoms hexagonally bonded to each other.  It has considerable strength as a material stronger than steel and approximating that of diamond.  It is also a very good electrical conductor.  While not a metal, it may one day prove to be a more easily acquired replacement for rare and scarce metals.

·         It was first created by the Russian scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2004 and in 2010, they won the Nobel Prize in Physics for its discovery.

·         In early 2014, the Advanced Institute of Technology in Korea published a synthetic method using germanium to produce uniform sheets suitable for large-scale production.

·         Some of the potential applications for graphene include aircraft bodies, large-scale water desalination, super-efficient transistors, radioactive waste disposal, condoms, and other strong, lightweight materials that can be manufactured using a 3-D printer.

·         THORIUM AS A REVOLUTIONARY ENERGY SOURCE

·         Thorium is typically found in ores processed form rare earth metals.

·         Thorium used to be found in handheld gas lamps and as additive in class manufacturing until it was deemed too dangerous for close-quarter use to its radioactivity. “Long-term exposure to thorium mantles (say, sitting by a campfire every weekend for decades) will probably not bring any harm; however, those exposed to larger number of the fragile lamp mantles on a daily basis – individuals working in a manufacturing capacity - tread a dangerous line.  Inhalation of thorium-containing molecules in a factory environment is extremely difficult to protect against, leaving the workforce subject to thorium exposure and deposits lodging in their lungs.”

·         It has even found use as toothpaste additive manufactured by a German company to make use of leftover thorium from lamp mantle manufacturing.

·         Thorium used in lamp mantles has been replaced by yttrium.

·         The metal thorium was co-discovered by Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius and Norwegian mineralogist Reverend Morten Thrane Esmark in 1828.

·         It is far less dangerous than uranium and is being considered as safer alternative to uranium for generating nuclear power.  In a thorium reactor, a small amount of uranium will be used to initiate the nuclear reaction in thorium fluoride salt.  The first thorium reactor built in the US was in the military town of Oak Ridge, TN which ran between 1965-1969.

·         Using a thorium mixture to power nuclear reactors has the added advantage of containing the powerful gamma emitter thallium-208, exposure to which can be deadly.  This provides a deterrent to theft of thorium as manufacturing a bomb from it will require heavy-duty shielding to prevent detection of the intensely radioactive thallium-208 signature.

·         Some disadvantages of a thorium nuclear power plant:  its nuclear reactions do not create weapons-grade waste by-products, requires more vigilant monitoring because of production of dangerous amounts of xenon gas

·         China is on-track for constructing a thorium reactor for large-scale energy production.  India is exploring it as well.

·         NEODYMIUM AND NIOBIUM

·         Neodymium is the most widely used permanent magnet (does not lose its magnetic properties): in hard drives, wind turbines, purse button clasps, superconductors, etc.

·         Niobium is also used as a magnet in safety implements, electronic, tiny speakers, implantable devices like pacemakers because of its hypoallergenic properties,

·         Superconducting magnets are produced when an electrical current is conducted through metal coils to generate the strongest measured magnetic fields.  “Using a wire made of a permanent magnet, like neodymium, turns the basic run-of-the-mill electromagnet into a superconducting one.”

·         Superconductors are used in particle accelerators.  The CERN Large Hadron Collider used in search of the Higgs Particle used superconductors made from niobium-titanium alloy magnets.

·         These strong permanent magnets are also used in maglev trains in China and Japan.  This type of technology is being considered to construct vertical tracks for a magnetic field-launch propulsion system that can propel cargo at very high speeds to enable it to escape the earth’s gravitational attraction.  This is projected to cost 1% of the estimated cost of other systems.

·         Potential use of strong permanent magnets in biology in creating three-dimensional cell cultures:  bacteria can be coated with magnetic nanoparticles and suspended in space in the presence of a neodymium magnet so that their growth and proliferation in 3-dimensional space can be observed (in contrast to the 2-dimensional world of a petri dish).  This is expected to resemble tissue construction more closely.

·         COULD HAFNIUM ALTER THE FUTURE OF WARFARE?

·         Hafnium is a rarely used metal.

·         In an experiment in which a small amount of a nuclear isomer* of Hf – 178 is exposed to a beam of x-rays (using dental equipment), researchers observed an “incredible amount” of energy in the form of gamma rays.  (*”Nuclear isomers differ from the typical definition of isomer in that the number of neutrons is stable, but one or more of the neutrons carries with it an inordinate amount of energy.”).  The theory suggests that the intense x-ray beam provided a trigger for the energy stored in the hafnium atoms to be released in a “quick flood” in contrast with the slow release over its 31-year half-life through normal decay.  Extrapolations from results of this experiment suggest that an ounce of single hafnium can release enough energy to boil 120 tons of room temperature water.

·         From this experiment grew the consideration of building hafnium explosives whose viability was explored by the JASON Defense Advisory Panel.  The JASON Panel was quite critical of the results due to insufficient experimental evidence as reported in a 1997 meeting.

·         The weaponizable promise of hafnium lies in the small amount needed to release a lot of energy at one time and the use of a fairly easily accessible and portable dental x-ray machine.

·         In addition to hafnium, nuclear isomers of tantalum, osmium, and platinum exist that are potential candidates for induced gamma emission.