Most Wanted Elements

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Many of the elements in my collection have come from viewers of this website. Some were donated, others I paid for.

Below is a list of the samples I would most like to have. Of course I'm always looking for any element I don't have, or a better sample of one I do (I have a list of all the ones I still need). But these are the elements that would be most appreciated.

If you have one of these, or know a good place to get one, please contact me at theodore@wolfram.com.
I know I can buy essentially any element from chemical suppliers, but that's cheating (it's also very expensive).
For elements where it's practical, I'm looking for elements from the wild, from industrial applications, in pound quantities.

Note that my definition of practical is fairly broad.

If you're considering donating a radioactive sample, I have several containment areas, including a lead glass display case:

built with heavy lead shielding glass (equivalent to approximately 1/16 inch of solid lead), a high-security can:

with two locks and inch-and-a-half thick lead walls, and various lead bowls:

with wall thicknesses of 1/8 to 1/2 inch.

If you'll donate it, I'll build however thick a lead wall it requires (I've got a large quantity of surplus lead available for this purpose). I also have a Geiger counter handy for making sure nothing is getting out where it doesn't belong, and have installed key locks on some of the more dangerous samples, like cesium.

Donate with confidence, your sample will be well taken care of.

Radon Needles

Thin gold needles filled with radon gas are used for radiation therapy. If you have some left over from some kind of mad-scientist experiment, or maybe just some that can't be used or re-used for some reason, I would give them a good home.

Depleted Uranium Bullet

I have several almost-samples, but none that I know for sure is really depleted uranium. What I most want is a depleted uranium round from some kind of anti-tank, anti-missile, anti-something munition.
Most likely sources for collection from the wild are:

Serbia/Bosnia region (visiting Serb scholars report their country is littered with the stuff, but the police come to collect any that is found)
Iraq/Kuwait region (it's been a while, so maybe it's all been collected by now?)
Afghanistan (surely must be some from recent hostilities)
Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico (used for decades as a naval practice range, but set to be shut down in May 2003 due to political protests)

If you're traveling to (or live in) one of these areas and wish to risk a very severe questioning and possible arrest by military police, consider collecting one for me.... The Puerto Rico source should have great potential, because its (a) a fine tourist destination and (b) controlled by the US Navy, which will probably only shoot you if you look foreign or have long hair. Don't forget about the danger of mines and unexploded ordnance, likely to be found in close association with any rich source of depleted uranium.

The freshest sources are no doubt Afghanistan and Iraq.
Close your eyes and imagine...[oh, OK, I guess you can open them again so you can keep reading]...you're an aid worker or maybe a reporter in the field in Kabul. The weather is nice, your translator speaks at least rudimentary english, and you're hungry. So let's go down to the market! The loose dogs run in the swirls of dust, children running after. The shapeless blobs still beg for their children's dinner, but maybe not as urgently. And in the market there are goods for sale. Flatbread, even oranges. The smells from the grill! There is hope in this place. Let's go down to that big tent, past the radios. Oh, wait, what's this? Next to the radio stand there's a dusty blanket with a dusty boy on it, and spread out in front of him is a wondrous array of shell fragments, helmets, spent magazines! Nothing you could actually use, but just the kind of thing a boy would collect with great excitement after the soldiers have left their battlefield. He's selling them: Buy a souvenir? You quickly count fingers, toes, and limbs: Good, he hasn't found any landmines yet. God, you hope he's careful. And look, what's that thing he's tossing from one hand to the other like it's the most amazing thing he's ever held? Could it be? Your translator asks to see it, he says "two dollars American". As soon as you hold it, you know exactly what it is, and no wonder the boy couldn't put it down. Nothing else is that heavy: 19g/cc is twice the weight of lead, three times the weight of iron. And you know what you have to do: Pay the boy his $2, warn him not to scratch or heat the heavy ones if he finds any more, and then send that depleted uranium round to me for safekeeping!

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