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Cadmium used to be used extensively to as a protective coating for steel, in much the way that zinc is used today ("Galvanized" steel is zinc-plated). Cadmium plating is still used in some specialized applications, but the toxicity of cadmium has discouraged more common use as a plating.
Large amounts of cadmium are used in Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) rechargeable batteries, used in a wide variety of electronic devices. Again the toxicity of cadmium is a problem, and it's important to bring rechargeable batteries back for recycling, to avoid contaminating landfills. Fortunately Ni-Cad technology is being replaced in many applications by nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion technologies, which are both longer-lasting and less toxic.
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 2 inch anode ball.
Purchased from eBay seller "El_Three" in May 2002. Similar balls are for sale in 100lb quantities by suppliers who list them as "anode balls". I'm not clear what industrial process they are used for, but reader Dan Burrill from the UK reports as follows:It is almost certainly used in electroplating, where the anode often consists of a cloth bag containing balls of metal or shot, depending upon the exact coating required. I'm not an expert on the subject, but my late father and I have worked in plating factories in the past and seen this in action. I believe this is done to provide a larger surface area, whilst the cloth bag prevents particles of the disintegrating anode from detaching and adhering to the article being plated.
From memory, nickel-cadmium plating used to be used on engine parts and other high-wear, high-temperature items, but I know this was banned in the UK some time ago (I'm not sure about its current status in other parts of the world). I believe it was replaced with zinc-nickel, but couldn't say for sure.Sounds plausible to me.
Source: eBay seller El_Three
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 13 May, 2002
Price: $35
Size: 2"
Purity: >95%
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Small lump 99.998%.
Kindly donated by David Franco, who sent many elements after seeing the slashdot discussion.
Source: David Franco
Contributor: David Franco
Acquired: 17 May, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: 99.998%
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Sample from the Everest Element Set.
Up until the early 1990's a company in Russia sold a periodic table collection with element samples. At some point their American distributor sold off the remaining stock to a man who is now selling them on eBay. The samples (excepted gasses) weight about 0.25 grams each, and the whole set comes in a very nice wooden box with a printed periodic table in the lid.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description and information about how to buy one, or you can see photographs of all the samples from the set displayed on my website in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order.
Source: Rob Accurso
Contributor: Rob Accurso
Acquired: 7 February, 2003
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: >99%
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