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Strontium is an element that sounds scary, probably because of its association with nuclear fallout. But like cobalt and cesium, its name is unfairly tarnished by a few bad isotopes: Ordinary strontium is not radioactive, nor is it especially toxic. It's used in glow in the dark paint.
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Glow in the dark powder.
This is strontium aluminate activated with europium. It's a very good glow-in-the-dark material, of the type you expose to light to charge up. It definitely works very nicely in that capacity, and can be charged in just a few minutes under fluorescent light. I got a sample of three different colors on eBay: The seller offers larger quantities and different formulations besides what he sells on eBay.
Not to be confused with our tritium glowing samples, which use the radioactive decay of tritium to glow for 10 or 20 years without any external input whatsoever.
Source: eBay seller teddp
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 5 September, 2002
Price: $12
Size: 1"
Purity: 53%
Sample Group: Powders
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Strontium chloride from old chemistry set.
This bottle is from a 1950's chemistry set I got on eBay after consulting this trusty reference book about radioactive collectables. It's an "ATOMIC ENERGY" set (that kind of thing was big in the '50s), but it also includes an assortment of standard-issue chemistry set chemicals. I'm listing the strontium bottle mainly because I don't have any other good samples of strontium yet.
According to the book's table of going rates for these things, I got a good deal on the chemistry set, though it is not in perfect condition and is missing some components. Modern chemistry sets are pretty wimpy, but I have to say that, aside from the uranium ore and the radium, this set is pretty tame as well. It even proudly claims to contain "no dangerous or explosive chemicals". I mean really, where's the fun in that? Here's a picture of the set:
Source: eBay seller 6tomcat
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2003
Price: $58/chemistry set
Size: 1"
Purity: 55%
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Real strontium.
Strontium metal is hard to get. In fact, it was in the very last group of elements I was able to acquire to complete my collection. It was donated by the extremely kind Max Whitby of the The Red Green & Blue Company, which sells a complete collection of elements.
They sell a very nice element collection in several versions. Max Whitby, the director of the company, very kindly donated a complete set to the periodic table table.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description or the company's website which includes many photographs and pricing details. I have two photographs of each sample from the set: One taken by me and one from the company. You can see photographs of all the samples displayed in a periodic table format: my pictures or their pictures. Or you can see both side-by-side with bigger pictures in numerical order.
The picture on the left was taken by me. Here is the company's version (there is some variation between sets, so the pictures sometimes show different variations of the samples):
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 25 January, 2003
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 0.5"
Purity: 99%
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Sample from the Everest 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 (except gases) weigh 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
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: >99%
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Assorted glow-in-the-dark paints.
This lovely array of glow-in-the-dark (phosphorescent) powders illustrates the range of colors and the brightness of modern luminous paints. Green and aqua are europium doped strontium aluminate, the brightest of all the modern phosphorescent powders. Blue is a alkali earth silicate, while red and orange are older, noticeably less bright zinc sulfides. (The difference in brightness is so great it was difficult to get a photograph that showed the glowing of the zinc sulfide without overexposing the other colors!) The powder packets are meant to be mixed with paint, nail polish, or whatever, rendering them luminous. The bottle in the back is ready-made paint, while the small tub is a heat-and-dip powder.
This set was kindly donated by Ready Set Glo: Visit their website at www.readysetglo.com or their eBay store.
(The "purity" listed below doesn't mean a whole lot since this is a mixture of several different compounds: I'm just indicating that this sample is not a simple element but rather a mixed compound.)
Source: Ready Set Glo
Contributor: Ready Set Glo
Acquired: 15 August, 2004
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 4"
Purity: <50%
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  Glow in the dark paint panel.
This is a clever little toy. It's a picture frame with two pieces of glass mounted about 1/8" apart, with the gap about half filled with europium activated strontium aluminate luminous powder (the kind you use to make glow in the dark paint). The powder does not glow on its own, but if you shine a light on it, it glows for a few minutes. Using a small LED flashlight (blue or UV is best) you can "write" on it in light, just like you can write on walls painted with luminous paint.
But then you get to the clever part: After writing something, or just exposing the whole panel to bright light, you can tip it and make the powder cascade down, taking the luminous portions with it. If you've exposed the whole panel you get interesting patterns that look like rock strata, alternating light and dark. (Only the top surface of powder is exposed, and when you mix it up you get layers of dark and glowing powder.)
I think the source I list is correct, but I've had this thing so long I no longer remember exactly who I got it from. The date listed is the date when it was photographed and added to the collection officially.
Source: eBay seller teddp
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 9 May, 2007
Text Updated: 12 May, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 7"
Purity: 53%
Sample Group: Powders
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Strontium toothpaste.
From the official Sensodyne UK website:Sensodyne Mint and Sensodyne Original Toothpaste
These Sensodyne products contain Strontium Acetate and Strontium Chloride respectively.
Beneath your tooth enamel is a layer called dentine, made from thousands of microscopic tubes or tubules. When the nerve endings within these tubules are exposed to triggers like cold drinks, you will feel short, sharp pains. Strontium Acetate and Strontium Chloride help block the tubules, preventing the nerve from being stimulated. Every time you brush with a Sensodyne paste containing Strontium Acetate or Strontium Chloride you are building up a barrier to painful stimuli. Always read the label.
This Mint flavor variety contains Strontium Acetate.
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 29 April, 2009
Text Updated: 30 April, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 7"
Purity: <1%
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Celestine.
Description from the source:
Celestine (Sr SO4 orth.), Sakoany Mine, Mahajanga Province, Madagascar. Massive with some face. 3x2x1,4 cm; 12 g;.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 27 December, 2008
Text Updated: 28 December, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 1.2"
Composition: SrSO4
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Strontium aluminum master alloy rod.
Master alloys are used to add small amounts of alloying agents to a pot of melted metal. They contain a much larger concentration of the agent pre-mixed with the base metal you want to amend. In this case it's somewhere between 10% and 30% strontium mixed into aluminum (the seller wasn't sure what grade of strontium aluminum the rods are).
Source: eBay seller consiliumdesigns
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 28 February, 2009
Text Updated: 1 March, 2009
Price: $5
Size: 12"
Composition: SrAl
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Strontium Titanate fake diamond.
Before the widespread use of cubic zirconia as fake diamond, strontium titanate was more popular. It is, however, much softer than diamond, and much more expensive that cubic zirconia.
I like it because it's a pretty use of strontium.
Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 11 March, 2009
Text Updated: 12 March, 2009
Price: $20
Size: 0.25"
Composition: SrTiO3
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