What objects ( like, for example, old thermometers for mercury) contain these elements? It doesn't matter if it is in salt or metallic form .Heptylene - 26-12-2018 at 03:41
Some electrical insulators contain beryllium oxide. Apparently magnetrons in microwave ovens have insulators made of beryllium oxide ceramic, although
it might have been replaced by something else.
Thallium was used as rat poison (as thallium sulfate) but was replaced by other less toxic alternatives.
Arsenic is used in semiconductors (with gallium: gallium arsenide, GaAs) to make IR LEDs.
unionised - 26-12-2018 at 05:39
IIRC thallium was used in making specialist optical glass. You might find it in an old expensive camera lens or some such.Sulaiman - 26-12-2018 at 06:21
i used realgar and orpiment for As in my elements before i had the "real" thing. Beryllium copper is somewhat common, and the mineral beryl is easy to
get.
@unionised - yes you are spot on - i have a sample of optical grade Tl (expensive
) ChemistryForever - 26-12-2018 at 12:57
How could you convert the lens into some soluble thallium salt ?Sulaiman - 26-12-2018 at 13:05
The reason for suggesting a lens is that it is moderately safe,
from all I've read, thallium is too toxic for me to mess with,
I would need a really good reason to use thallium salts.
(Thallium and its salts are restricted here in UK anyway)Ubya - 26-12-2018 at 13:09
How could you convert the lens into some soluble thallium salt ?
first you would need to buy those lens, i would first try a cheaper route.
anyway i think dissolving glass is only possible with HF or sodium hydroxide (molten or very concentrated solution)Assured Fish - 26-12-2018 at 13:23
I feel like this need to be said, beryllium oxide is some very very nasty stuff, carcinogenic as hell and also very easily dispersed into the air. Not
something you should be considering handling unless you have some very good safety precautions in place.
Pulling apart microwaves can be quite dangerous if you dont know what your doing and haven't discharged the capacitor.
Thallium salts are less of a concern as as long as you dont come in contact with it through skin you have little to be concerned with (not sure about
thallium 1 oxide as that may present the same inhalation risk as beryllium oxide).
Needless to say water soluble thallium salts are no joke and are very dangerous.
Now arsenic in comparison to the other two elements i think presents less of a risk, arsenic trioxide is probably the worst form you could be handling
it in and even this has been used in low doses on traditional Chinese medicine (implying it did not kill enough people to make people smart enough to
fear it).
Though care is still paramount.
In all honesty arsenic and thallium (while they may get you in trouble) are not what im overly concerned with.
But beryllium and its ease of acquisition is what concerns me so ill repeat this again.
Please do not try to extract beryllium from a microwave without some serious supervision.
One has to ask, what is the underlying purpose behind you wanting to acquire these three specific and infamous elements?Sulaiman - 26-12-2018 at 14:01
I have a piece of Be from a friend (he got a larger quantity via eBay)
I don't lick it (apparently it tastes sweet) but it is not scarilly hazardous,
neither are the fused berillium oxide tiles/pads that I have (no taste).
The concern is AFAIK only for fine dry dust inhalation.
[Edited on 26-12-2018 by Sulaiman]Ubya - 26-12-2018 at 15:27
I have a piece of Be from a friend (he got a larger quantity via eBay)
I don't lick it (apparently it tastes sweet) but it is not scarilly hazardous,
neither are the fused berillium oxide tiles/pads that I have (no taste).
The concern is AFAIK only for fine dry dust inhalation.
[Edited on 26-12-2018 by Sulaiman]
MUST. RESIST. THE URGE. TO LICK BERYLLIUM
anyway yea the dust is the problem, if you have a solid chunck it is safe, grinding it? not a good idea
(i broke by mistake a beryllium oxide rod used inside an RF load, luckily it broke inside the casing and not near my face)Sulaiman - 26-12-2018 at 22:04
I thought about another (impractical) source of beryllium: some windows used in x-ray tubes. Though if you have an intact x-ray tube you might want to
keep it that way.
If you have a broken x-ray tube you might also have an interesting target material to salvage: tungsten, molybdenum, rhodium, ... phlogiston - 27-12-2018 at 03:50
You'll like Vrbaite. This mineral, even harder to find than it to pronounce, contains not only Thallium and Arsenic, but also mercury.
(Hg3Tl4As8Sb2S20)
)
