Tungsten Museum-grade sample
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3D3DMuseum-grade sample.
In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings).

This cylinder is made of solid tungsten, but plated with gold so it looks like solid gold. And unlike most fake gold, it actually weighs the right amount. Interestingly, the density of tungsten is virtually the same (to three decimal places) as the density of gold, so if you want to make fake bars of gold, using tungsten in the core would be a really good idea. Getting the weight right is important because gold, like tungsten, is extremely dense, nearly twice the density of lead. No one who knows their gold would be fooled by anything crude like gold plated lead. Remember those old Westerns where the bad guys sling a bag full of gold bars over their saddles and ride off? Forget it: The horse would never make it, those bars are a lot heavier than they look.

Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 December, 2005
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: See Listing
Size: 4"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: RGB Samples
Tungsten