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top 200 commentsshow 500

[–]Vycid 341 points342 points ago

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I actually grew one of these in a materials science class. This is a ridiculously beautiful crystal, though.

Bismuth is funny. The square patterns visible in the crystal are because of its unusual trigonal crystal structure, which leads to a higher growth rate at the edges of the faces than the faces themselves. The colorful patterns are a result of varying thicknesses of the bismuth oxide, which probably formed because this crystal was pulled out of a bismuth melt (the high temperature caused the oxidation).

The more you know --*

[–]latticusnon 58 points59 points ago

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So how do I make one at home out of easily accessible and cheap supplies?

[–]beroe 234 points235 points ago*

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THIS IS HOW:

Start with one lb (or so, larger amounts are presumable easier) of bismuth, bought pretty easily off of amazon. 1 lb: $20. Look for the purest you can get.

Get the following equipment: stainless steel bowl, fork, potgrips or similar, stainless steel measuring cup. Look in goodwill but don't use anything you'll eat with later. Place your bismuth in the measuring cup, and put it over A STOVE or A CAMP STOVE. (a camp stove outside is safest. Disclaimer: I'm a doctor on the internet. FURTHER DISCLAIMER: comments say do this outside.)

It will melt soon. Use the potgrips, not your fingers, to hold it, idiot.

Once it's all melted, take it off the heat, and let it sit- won't be too long- until it's half solidified. About. Then, pour off the remaining metal into the bowl. LET IT ALL SIT FOR A BIT. Tilt it around in the bowl a little as it solidifies, if you like.

WITH ALL LUCK, you have now created beautiful crystals. You can probably melt these down later to make more crystals. AWESOME!

Edit: steal

[–]RapeTentacles 113 points114 points ago

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I'm sensing a flood of "look at my mother fucking bismuth" threads coming. Oh shit I better get my chem on.

[–]reverse_pickpocket 137 points138 points ago

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yo! MR WHITE!!

[–]Magnesus 54 points55 points ago

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Stainless? I can't get that bitch. I'll just use plastic.

[–]Richeh 53 points54 points ago

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Your house is now soaked in a dead guy.

[–]derezo 30 points31 points ago

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I love how this HOWTO calls for a measuring cup that is not used to measure anything.

...but I still totally want to try it.

[–]beroe 12 points13 points ago

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Fine, fine, any other stainless steel thing can be substituted. Though I encourage readers to use their measuring cup to calculate the density of their melted bismuth. Science!

[–]psychonavigator 20 points21 points ago

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stainless steal bowl

Why come stainless gotta steal the bowl and mixing cup, can't it just axe nicely?

[–]Thjoth 32 points33 points ago

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You need to inform /r/ggggg of this immediately.

[–]kylehampton 20 points21 points ago

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...the hell?

[–]Quantris 9 points10 points ago

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...ggg gggg?

GGGG

[–]theineffablebob 33 points34 points ago

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How is this a thing

[–]Semiel 17 points18 points ago

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Not only a thing, a 2000-subscriber, several-posts-a-day thing...

[–]lurklurklurkPOST 8 points9 points ago

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Some men, just want to GgGg GGg gGGGg GggG.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]AllNamesAreGone 5 points6 points ago

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Embrace the ggggggggg.

[–]psychonavigator 9 points10 points ago

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It ain't just a thing, it's a g thing, baby.

[–]latticusnon 11 points12 points ago

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You are a good person.

[–]quova3is 16 points17 points ago

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Except for all the encouragement to steal.

[–]CrabbyMonday 5 points6 points ago

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I'm so fucking happy right now I could explode, but not before I make me some beautiful god damn bismuth crystals!

[–]SeafoodCity 2 points3 points ago

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cool.

[–]cybrbeast 3 points4 points ago

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Here is a more in-depth tutorial with pictures.

http://amazingrust.com/experiments/how_to/Bismuth_Crystals.html

[–]Angstweevil 2 points3 points ago

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What is the purpose of the step where you leave it to sit until half solidified? Removing impurities?

[–]beroe 2 points3 points ago

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It's very important! The crystals form during this step.

[–]-99_points 2 points3 points ago

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Don't breathe the vapors. Grow your crystal(s) outdoors. Also, bismuth is radioactive. You're cool though, its half-life is a billion times the age of the universe.

[–]tiredeyes2 2 points3 points ago

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You have to be pretty sly to get a stainless steal bowl, but you sure save the $$$

[–]100uf 103 points104 points ago

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I grew one at burning man. The expo was called "None of your bismuth," seemed great at the time, but next to that one...

[–]dwaxe 53 points54 points ago

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What was next to it? I need to know!

[–]yumcax 71 points72 points ago

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That's none of your Bismuth!

[–]100uf 29 points30 points ago

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You sound like the guy next to me at the time!

[–]niobium92 13 points14 points ago

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who cares about the guy next to you! What was next to it? ?

[–]darien_gap 15 points16 points ago

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Mine your own bismuth.

[–]brewtang 15 points16 points ago

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riddle me this motherfucker!

DID YOU KNOW THAT BISMUTH IS THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN MOTHERFUCKING PEPTO-BISMOL!!!!

YOU'RE WELCOME

If that wasn't enough you should know that liquid bismuth is actually more dense than when it is in the solid form!!!!!

BOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

[–]erikvonvicious 13 points14 points ago

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also bismuth wants to repel BOTH poles of a magnet... yeah proceed to scrape your blown mind off the ceiling.

[–]ManekiGecko 2 points3 points ago

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Like the water density anomaly?

[–]YardenGarden 156 points157 points ago

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Hardest level of Q*bert yet.

[–]MrNameless 128 points129 points ago

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[–]netpastor 30 points31 points ago

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get the hell out of here, "real" bismuth.

[–]olie_baba 184 points185 points ago

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Looks like Dick cheese

[–][deleted] 146 points147 points ago

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We'll take your word for it.

[–]thecatdoesdrugs[S] 56 points57 points ago

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how the shitting hell are you failing to take care of your dick? ಠ_ಠ

[–]bakercampbell 21 points22 points ago

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mmm... smegma...

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points ago

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I never eat soft tofu because it always looks like the old smeg'...

[–]TheConfusedRedditor 11 points12 points ago

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Ewww...

[–]josh6499 6 points7 points ago

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This is giving me a wierd deja vu.

[–]downneck 13 points14 points ago

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is that, like, "boner" but in french?

[–]OhManThisIsAwkward 13 points14 points ago

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Ugh. I just threw up all over myself.

[–][deleted] 72 points73 points ago*

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Ironically, the cure is a bismuth containing compound.

[–]downneck 22 points23 points ago

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you are one smart guy

[–]StNicotine 4 points5 points ago

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you are downneck

[–]Jojopolo 84 points85 points ago

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So is it cool if guys propose with this from now on?

[–]Megatron26 55 points56 points ago

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I'm a girl, and yes

[–]Perceptual_Existence 11 points12 points ago

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Very much yes. It would be so cool to be proposed to with something that looks like THAT!

[–]TheWhiteMug 13 points14 points ago

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Really? Reminds me of oil stains, tainted brass and compact disks.

[–]karmic_retribution 28 points29 points ago

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by M.C. Escher

[–]m0nster6884 5 points6 points ago

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on board for this

[–]FrankManic 18 points19 points ago

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Wikipedia says it's not very toxic and doesn't accumulate in the body. I think you might be go.

[–]02keilj 9 points10 points ago

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A lot of hunting shot gun rounds are now bismuth instead of lead due to the lead getting in to water supplies and killing the wildlife.

[–]Lisurgec 15 points16 points ago

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That's terrible! Hunters killing wildlife?! I'm glad they're doing something about that.

[–]02keilj 3 points4 points ago

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I know right. Kind of funny that the lead shot that didn't hit and kill the ducks was getting in to the water and killing them slowly via lead poisoning haha. I had to write about this in my Environmental Geology exam

[–]Yotsubato 6 points7 points ago

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Hunting is highly regulated. Usually hunters are only allowed to kill species which are overpopulated (like too many rabbits are in the ecosystem, so to save the grass and vegetation its rabbit season, or too little rabbits in the ecosystem so its fox season)

[–]somnolent49 3 points4 points ago

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Mind you, half the reason those species are overpopulated is because the apex predators in those ecosystems were hunted into/near to extinction.

[–]feureau 23 points24 points ago

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I wish I was a girl so I can yes to this.

[–]xdewx 19 points20 points ago

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In today's day and age, you don't have to keep wishing.

[–]slowhand88 11 points12 points ago

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God I hope so. I refuse to support the fucking diamond industry.

[–]karlikarli 2 points3 points ago

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Very.

[–]Erkel85 11 points12 points ago

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Fuck proposing with that, that thing looks like it'll give you one hell of a trip if you smoke it.

[–]frostedwaffles 441 points442 points ago

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Smithing level: 100

[–]elementus 27 points28 points ago

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But what do I do with all of my iron daggers now?

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points ago

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Enchant+sell

[–]God_hates_me 2 points3 points ago

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increase enchanting !

[–]IDlOT 43 points44 points ago

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Lol, what if bismuth was the cube next to it and we were all getting trolled.

[–]02keilj 37 points38 points ago

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The cube on the right is also bismuth. Just a highly pure (99.99%) cubic sample

[–]jakemg 2 points3 points ago

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Yup. They're showing you what they used to seed the crystals.

[–]crackshot91 54 points55 points ago

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You never go full Daedric. D:

[–]FrankManic 23 points24 points ago

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Contrary to popular belief full Daedric is very viable with the right suite of strength and agility boosting enchantments.

[–]RielDealJr 35 points36 points ago

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Or with the right heavy armor perks to make it not encumber you at all.

[–]GalileoMateo 18 points19 points ago

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steed stone is all you really need

[–]PerogiXW 6 points7 points ago

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Steed stone plus the perk means +100 weight, weightless armor, and no speed debuff. Shit is cash.

[–]Rude_Canadian 10 points11 points ago

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steed stone without the perk = +100 weight, weightless armour, and no speed debuff

[–]Dowhead 10 points11 points ago

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Back in the day I'd go full rune... Or dragon.

[–]lotictrance 11 points12 points ago

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I was gonna say, the Dwemer had that shit on lockdown before the First Era.

[–]Youreahugeidiot 37 points38 points ago

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Like a G6*.

*That's all I can see in that picture.

[–]ericdelappe 70 points71 points ago

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I have to wonder how this comment is related to the one you replied to.

[–]vsPERIL 150 points151 points ago

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It doesn't. It is simply attaching itself to the underbelly of the larger karma shark.

[–]kingnottingham 18 points19 points ago

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I like how you explained that.

[–]Patrick5555 7 points8 points ago

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back in my day we called it karma drafting, and then we just threw rocks at each other

[–]ziplokk 13 points14 points ago

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ah yes, the karma lamprey

[–]xFaded 11 points12 points ago

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Made sense for me [7]

[–]netpastor 79 points80 points ago

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i could see this as a google logo.

[–]EetzRusheen 16 points17 points ago

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Funny, I was thinking it looks more like the Microsoft logo gone 3d. Then, on a second look, I noticed the 'G's...

Very neat!

[–]krokenlochen 12 points13 points ago

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GGG's elemental counterpart.

[–]Phei 2 points3 points ago

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[–]andyman9277 5 points6 points ago

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Shapes actually look like a G.

[–]Dooooood6 216 points217 points ago

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[–]cromulency 39 points40 points ago

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What the fuck is "polybenium"?

[–]34junkie 13 points14 points ago

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Who gives a fuck? Fuck it what ever "it" is.

[–]thecatdoesdrugs[S] 60 points61 points ago

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I lost it at cockbags

[–]Mr_Wy 136 points137 points ago

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[–]TheLiberalSoup 19 points20 points ago

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I have one at home.

And it is shit compared to this.

[–]thecatdoesdrugs[S] 23 points24 points ago

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Yea, this is a ridiculously beautiful specimen

[–]MillardFillmore 32 points33 points ago

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FUCK YEAH

[–]indiemonk 27 points28 points ago

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IT'S ALL ABOUT DAT ANTIMONY

[–]redditor3000 64 points65 points ago

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This reminds me of that old pipes screensaver for windows. Picture

[–]deltabishop 28 points29 points ago

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I could stare at that screensaver for hours.

[–]Peregrine7 17 points18 points ago

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I DID stare at that screensaver for hours.

[–]Oo0o8o0oO 17 points18 points ago

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I liked the other one that was like Wolfenstein 3D if all the nazis decided to put up blacklight posters and then leave the castle.

[–]babiesloveboobies 2 points3 points ago

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This is the funniest thing I've read on the internet in at least a week.

[–]lisabadcat 57 points58 points ago

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Personal foul! 15 yards for giving him the Bismuth!

[–]tommyservo 13 points14 points ago

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I'm in the Bismuth of giving you the Bismuth.... And Bismuth is good.

[–]nitro316 5 points6 points ago

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are you looking to expand your Bismuth?

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points ago

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Oh god I just watched that video 2 minutes ago. The world is closing in on me.

[–]Sixpeoplewilling 29 points30 points ago

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Anyone else want to wear this on a chain? Nope? skips away

[–]craigory83 19 points20 points ago

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I'm going to guess that you know 6 people that do?

[–]I_probably_wouldnt 16 points17 points ago

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Nahhhh...

[–]I_probably_would 19 points20 points ago

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Sure.

[–]iamthewaffler 44 points45 points ago

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This is my crystal, photographed by the brilliant Heinrich Pniok. Thanks for the appreciation! It's next to a 1cm3 piece of unoxidized bismuth for reference (the crystal is colored by oxide thin film interference).

[–]Angstweevil 6 points7 points ago

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Cany post a picture of it on your desk?

[–]iamthewaffler 3 points4 points ago

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Nope, Heinrich still has it, along with many of my other unique element samples, from early 2011. All of these pictures are posted on Wikipedia; however, I don't wish to link directly to them because many of them have my full name in the description (as the source/owner), and that's a bit close for comfort.

I have, however, posted about my element collection in the past. This is a thread that didn't take off from a bit ago- there was one where I posted a LOT more about my collection, people had lots of questions etc, but I don't care enough to find it.

EDIT: fixed link

[–]flying_kitties_93 11 points12 points ago

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All i see is G G G G G over and over again

[–]cokeeyay 6 points7 points ago

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Which instantly brought this song to my mind.

[–]JERKFACE9000 2 points3 points ago

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Gee gee gee gee, baby, baby, baby is all I'm hearing right now.

[–]torontoitguy 11 points12 points ago

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[–]mamashaq 7 points8 points ago

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HOLY SHIT IT'S BISMUTH! FUCK YEAH BISMUTH! FUCK LEAD AND FUCK DIAMOND AND FUCK ANTIMONY. BISMUTH IS THE FUCKING SHIT!!

SHIT YEAH! just fucking LOOK at it. its goddamn glorious! looks like the fucking pyramids in Egypt.

[–]Sublime_90 6 points7 points ago

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I had 3 small ones when I was little and put them in a hand made treasure box. I was unpacking boxes yesterday and found it :)

[–]fugoe 5 points6 points ago

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Pics or it didn't happen

[–]BilliardKing 7 points8 points ago

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IIRC. Bismuth is the active ingredient of Peptol Bismol. Hence the name.

[–]AyChihuahua 11 points12 points ago

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Why don't I shit rainbows then!? All I get is black poop. :(

[–]the_upvote_faerie 12 points13 points ago

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Out of nowhere it's fucking Feldspar.

[–]AxelPrime 5 points6 points ago

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See this is what science needs to do to get the silly people on board, make shinny rainbow things

[–]HZAres 6 points7 points ago

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pfff, naturally occurring pyrite cubes

[–]metalmoose 5 points6 points ago

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This is from wikipedia. I feel cheated somehow. Also, this one is way cooler.

[–]TheCha96 5 points6 points ago

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[–]arnie532 14 points15 points ago

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[–]lowlystaffer 5 points6 points ago

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Question from someone with little chemistry knowledge: is bismuth safe to handle outside a lab setting? I.e. can I keep a crystal in my apartment without poisoning myself?

[–]PaladinZ06 16 points17 points ago

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Yes, but don't lick it. If you do, you may suffer from accidental superpowers such as telekinesis, ability to fly, transparency, 30-foot projectile vomiting, instant senility+sterility+ED, or laser/heat vision.

[–]cromulency 5 points6 points ago

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There's bismuth in Pepto-Bismol, it's basically bismuth-aspirin.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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On occasion, mines in Ca allow the general public to collect large specimens of halite crystals. Hoppers are the prize, and here's some examples.

[–]yesukai 2 points3 points ago

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Wikipedia says it's surprisingly non-toxic for a heavy metal, and you would probably be fine handling it. Wash your hands afterwards, just to be safe.

[–]malefic_puppy 6 points7 points ago

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How large is large? :/

[–]PacoThePenguin 3 points4 points ago

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Each cubic, iridescent specimen is about 55 grams, 3 to 4 cm in size. While supplies last.

About 1 1/2 inches.

[–]feureau 25 points26 points ago

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Finally! A scale that classifies my penis as godzilla-sized! \o/

[–]LtCthulhu 26 points27 points ago

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  1. FAKE!...2. research...3. NOT FAKE?!...4. Mind = melted

[–]Shovelol 29 points30 points ago

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  1. Mind recrystallized into bismuth crystal.

[–]estrtshffl 2 points3 points ago

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We have the situation under control, Lieutenant Cthulhu.

[–]Gredelston 4 points5 points ago

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Man, look how smooth that cube is. The grained surfaces are so fine. And the edges are almost all equal in size! Only a lab could create so fine a mineral...

Oh, and that's a pretty-looking rainbow thing to its left, too!

[–]letstalkaboutrocks 4 points5 points ago

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Shameless plug alert:

Do you enjoy rocks? Have a specimen that you're not quite sure what it is? Then you may have an interest in r/rockhounds

Thanks for your time!

[–]dizzyenterprise 4 points5 points ago

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FUCK YEAH BISMUTH

[–]Dreaded 17 points18 points ago

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LSD is a hell of a drug.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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"Put this nondescript cube next to it for size comparison."

[–]chwilliam 3 points4 points ago

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So happy that unmarked cube is there for scale!

[–]DeltruS 2 points3 points ago

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Hmmm. That could be the size of a grain of sand.

[–]Aenerb 2 points3 points ago

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Still use these to design elven cities in D&D.

[–]levera 2 points3 points ago

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[–]desquibnt 2 points3 points ago

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Straight from the wikipedia page

[–]NexusCloud 2 points3 points ago

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This crystal means serious bismuth.

[–]PlasmaticMaple 2 points3 points ago

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My new phone background. Fucking thank you.

[–]Toderico 6 points7 points ago

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How large is that block to the right? I understand it is there for reference, but I can't help but think with my Minecraft mind and think that it's 1 meter high.

[–]samdigasper 3 points4 points ago

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It's a 1cm cube of Bismuth metal.

[–]Toderico 2 points3 points ago

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Ah, so the thing on the right is Bismuth metal, but the thing on the left is Busmuth crystal? This would make a lot of sense.

[–]kDubya 5 points6 points ago

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They're both bismuth. The cube was machined from a larger piece, the crystal grown in a molten bath. The crystal is shiny from bismuth oxide that forms.

[–]Toderico 2 points3 points ago

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Ah, interesting! Thanks for sharing this information with me!

[–]ghostyhouse 3 points4 points ago

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It appears to be continuously growing the letter G. This is the extent of my scientific observation.

[–]wazzaa4u 4 points5 points ago

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There's a lot of G's in there

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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half of the reason I upvoted was how awesome this is, the other half was because you put the 1x1 cube in for scale

[–]Tattered 1 point2 points ago

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what is the cube next to it?

[–]Asliceofpizza 1 point2 points ago

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Do you have any experience producing these crystals or are you just posting a photo? I'm legitimately curious as I am looking to compile as much information about them as possible with my professor.

[–]djdalek 1 point2 points ago

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Also: good for diarrhea.

[–]duffmanhb 1 point2 points ago

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Do I see the fibonacci sequence there?

[–]desktop_ninja 1 point2 points ago

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i thought this was an AMA...

[–]HYPHYJUICE 1 point2 points ago

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Looks pretty G

[–]Replekia 1 point2 points ago

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I actually own one of these, bought it a local smalltown museum. It's even tripper in real life. The iridescent sheen is rather cool and it forms the step-like crystal structure in every direction. What isn't shown in this picture is the flat part of the crystal from where it stuck to the vat they grow it in.

[–]ChancellorButt 1 point2 points ago

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Serious bismuth

[–]pants6000 1 point2 points ago

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I fucking love bismuth.

[–]Zherom 1 point2 points ago

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As I gazed upon this, the only words to escape my mouth were "....MOTHER....FUCKING....AWESOME..."

[–]neilk 1 point2 points ago

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This is from Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons.

Wizmut Kristall und 1cm3 Weuerfel

All glory to the photographer, alchemist-hp.

[–]Calber4 1 point2 points ago

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Pretty sure there's a google logo somewhere in there.

[–]Darchseraph 1 point2 points ago

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Minecraft must be updating its polycount.

[–]SocialSoundSystem 1 point2 points ago

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I thought it was an everlasting gobstopper

[–]colindontcare 1 point2 points ago

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I would wear it as a ring.

[–]SirPrize 1 point2 points ago

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Sooo... Does it do anything?

[–]Xaveb 1 point2 points ago

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thats so G

[–]Redrona 1 point2 points ago

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Yo dawg, we heard you like pretty colors...

[–]sarahisneat 1 point2 points ago

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this is so cool i want one. NOW.

[–]The_Determinator 1 point2 points ago

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GGG

[–]thatoneblackkid 1 point2 points ago

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I want a watch made out of that...

[–]Jepuliz1 1 point2 points ago

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MOTHERFUCKING BISMUTH!

[–]Gradual_Bro 1 point2 points ago

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Looks like the old windows screen saver to me

[–]ittakesacrane 1 point2 points ago

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chemistry... it's theriouth bismuth

[–]Chad999 1 point2 points ago

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The Ultimate GG

[–]Asdayasman 1 point2 points ago

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FUCK YEAH, BISMUTH!

[–]friedsushi87 1 point2 points ago

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Fuck yeah bismuth

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Isn't God amazing!

[–]Lilday 1 point2 points ago

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Now we just need some lab-grown oil and we can save the world.

Well, save the economy. Probably help destroy the world faster.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Looks like some bling that T-pain might wear. As an added perk, it says "G" all over it.

[–]upgrayedd08 1 point2 points ago

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Check out the cleavage on that baby

[–]MyLeftBollock 1 point2 points ago

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My favourite thing about this picture: to show scale, they put a block of wood next to it, albeit of totally indeterminable size....

Great crystal though.