#poster samples

Electrolytic pieces - Cobalt sample

These are electrolytically-created pieces of cobalt metal. I like the bumpy texture on the largest piece, which is distinctive of the process in general - other metals would be the same.

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

Source: ProMetals on Amazon

Date of Acquisition: 8 June 2026

Twisted ingot - Indium sample

I created this ingot by melting some indium I had (most of my indium in fact - my only other piece is a "bullion" bar by Luciteria). I twisted it as well to display indium's iconic softness. This was created to represent indium in my WIP poster, but I haven't taken a professional photo of it yet.

Source: Me

Date of Creation: 16 June 2026

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

1g from Luciteria - Boron sample

Here's a bottle of very sparkly boron crystals, 1g total. Boron is also available as a reddish-brown amorphous powder, which I haven't been able to get a sample of quite yet.

One of these crystals is planned to represent boron in my WIP periodic table poster:

Source: Luciteria

Date of Acquisition: ca. April 2024

1g piece from Luciteria - Beryllium sample

I got this piece of beryllium years ago, so long ago that I can't find the receipt for it. I know it's beryllium, and I'm pretty sure it's a 1g piece from Luciteria. It didn't originally come in this bottle, rather loose in a baggie - I put it in there to match.

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

Source: Luciteria?

Luciteria 1g sample - Lithium sample

Lithium is the first of the alkali metals, which are soft and highly reactive - they can explode in water.

Lithium is the least dangerous of its siblings; a solid chunk of it will simply hiss in water. It must be a foil to detonate.

Lithium also rapidly oxidizes, so it must be stored under oil. It's also the lightest metal, so it floats in oil; fortunately, a gram of it completely fills Luciteria's small bottles, so I don't have to worry about that.

This sample, upside down to represent the fact it floats in oil, is planned to represent lithium in my WIP Periodic Table poster:

Source: Luciteria

Date of Acquisition: ca. May 2022

Price: $7.50 (then), $6.50 (now)

Mercury thermometers - Mercury sample

These vintage fever thermometers were made with mercury. The boxes say they were manufactured by Becton, Dickinson & Co. in Rutherford, New Jersey.

The boxes say one's for oral and the other's for other use. The instructions say to reset the thermometers by swinging them hard, which is a bad idea because they're fragile glass tubes full of horrible brain damage poison.

I can't tell for sure which instruction sheet goes with which, as they have the same text (and the thermometers came to me in the wrong boxes); however, they list the serial numbers as 33333 (inspected Aug 31 '50) and 8516 (inspected Dec 22 '52).

Here's photos of the less-damaged instruction sheet:

This sample (specifically the non-flat one with the lower box) is planned to represent mercury in my WIP periodic table poster:

Source: Becton, Dicksinson & Company (original manufacturer), eBay seller army-65

Date of Acquisition: 1 June 2026

Date of Creation: ca. August 1950 & ca. December 1952

pH test strips - Hydrogen sample

These pH paper strips only really contain hydrogen in the organic molecules that make them up, but I've included them as one of hydrogen's representatives because they detect acid - i.e., hydrogen ions in solution. They also react to hydroxide ions in solution, turning blue, but whatever.

This sample is currently planned to represent hydrogen in my WIP periodic table poster, inspired by Theodore Gray's, who's my inspiration for this whole thing:

(The acid used here is lemon juice.)

Source: shenzhenshi Aoyu keji co., LTD on Amazon

Date of Aquisition: ca. August 2021

Price: $3.98 (then) / $5.49 (now) for two packs