#element sample

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Tritium radioluminescent tube - Hydrogen sample

This is a tiny ampule containing tritium, another isotope of hydrogen. This one has two neutrons and is radioactive, with a half-life of 12.32 years, decaying into helium-3 via alpha decay.

This ampule is lined with a phosphor that the tritium's radiation keeps perpetually charged, allowing it to glow in the dark 24/7. This is similar to how radium and promethium watches used to glow in the dark; in fact, tritium tubes like these are used in modern always-glowing watches.

Only a small amount of the middling beta radiation makes it through the glass; my Radiacode 102 measures 15 counts per second laying on it, where its normal background is about 2.5-3.

Source: Bruce ACfun on Amazon

Date of Acquisition: ca. June 2021

Price: $26 (no longer available)

Size: 1.5x6mm

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Uranium glass sherbet cup - Uranium sample

This is a sherbet cup made of uranium glass that I bought mainly for display. It clearly fluoresces under blacklight, but barely registers on my Radiacode (I'm not completely sure it even does yet, I only just got the cup.) Better than my uranium glass marbles (which I'll officially add when we get to my other uranium samples) that don't register at all. Intact uranium glass is considered largely safe (even for occasionally eating and drinking out of), but this one has a small chip at the base, which is a potential contamination risk. Probably fine, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. Notably, the main risk for uranium exposure is not that it's radioactive, rather that it's a toxic heavy metal that'll fuck up your kidneys; the radiation is very low.

Source: mans_mart on eBay

Date of Acquisition: 4 June 2026

Date of Creation: ca. 1930s

Price: $8.95

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Small discharge ampule from the Luciteria Science "basic glass bottles" collection - Hydrogen sample

When I figured it was about time to get some normal hydrogen, since I only really had the special ones, I bought a low-pressure ampule from Luciteria.

Though I only have receipts for a medium-sized 10x40mm ampule, like the rest of my discharge ampules, this one came as a tiny ampule in a bottle with the name on it.

Whatever the case, it's seen here held to a plasma globe to make it glow rather faintly.

Source: Luciteria Science

Date of Acquisition: ca. February 2022?

Price: $7? (then) / $9 (now)

Size: 7x25mm (Edit: I've found another receipt for a Luciteria hydrogen ampule of an unspecified size, dated July 2021, so maybe that's it. The price on the receipt is $10, as well.)

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Deuterium oxide - Hydrogen sample

Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen - an alternative formulation that contains one neutron alongside the one proton. Here, I have 10 grams of "heavy water", whose hydrogen is all its deuterium isotope.

Heavy water is slightly denser than the normal stuff, with a heavy ice cube sinking in non-heavy DHMO. It has what I would describe as a "hollow" sweetness; don't drink too much of it, though, as its slight differences to normal water mean it'll kill you if it replaces about half your body's water.

Source: United Nuclear

Date of Acquisition: ca. Jul 2021

Price: $15 (then), $29 (now)

Mass: 10 g

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Indicator lights - Neon sample

These are tiny indicator lights containing low-pressure neon gas. That means they glow neon's iconic red-orange; I'm not too familiar with electronics, so I've only done this with a plasma globe. Basically tiny neon signs, neat.

This sample is planned to represent neon in my WIP periodic table poster:

(For this, I took my plasma globe apart - the bulb part just comes off still sealed - and exposed the internals, so I could stick the indicator light in there. This was very sketchy, but I didn't die.)

Source: Express Brands on Amazon

Date of Acquisition: ca. Aug 2022

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Fluorite - Fluorine sample

Here's a couple pieces of fluorite that also represent fluorine. I'm told fluorite is supposed to be fluorescent, but no matter how many pieces I shine my UV light on, nothing noticeable happens except the mineral being lit up a dim purple.

Source: ?

Date of Acquisition: ?

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Ampule of diluted fluorine from Luciteria - Fluorine sample

Fluorine is the first and most reactive of the halogens - elements missing one electron in their valence shells, causing them to violently rip away electrons from anything it can to fill this gap. Most substances will spontaneously combust in fluorine, including glass (which will stop the other halogens). It's the most difficult of the non-radioactive elements to collect in pure form.

Here, I have an ampule filled with 30% fluorine and 70% helium; the inert helium dilutes the fluorine severely. I'm not clear on the pressure of the gas mixture, but it can't be too high, since the fluorine's pale yellow color isn't present at all.

Even at only 30% concentration, it still wasn't fully tamed; you can see at the tip, where it was flame-sealed, that it attacked the heated glass and frosted it. I'm hoping that there's still some elemental fluorine left, since it looks like it could only, but that's just hope.

You can collect pure fluorine gas at concentrations high enough to see it, if you have a nigh-perfect container; the process is detailed here.

This sample is planned to represent fluorine in my WIP periodic table poster:

Source: Luciteria

Date of Aquisition: ca. June 2024

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Homemade oxygen - Oxygen sample

Hydrogen peroxide, when exposed to light, will slowly decompose into water and oxygen (2H²O² -> 2H²O + O²). You can speed this up with manganese dioxide; I've been collecting these tubes of oxygen by dropping oxidized chips of Mn into peroxide, with the tube upside-down over it such that the oxygen will displace the peroxide and fill the tube. The manganese isn't consumed and is simply a catalyst.

The one in the test tube on the left is the youngest. A photograph of the oxygen bubbling through the peroxide during its making is planned to represent oxygen in my WIP periodic table poster:

Source: Self-made

Date of Acquisition: 24 April 2026 (poster sample)