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Chlorine smells overwhelmingly of public swimming pool. That's because it is used to disinfect the water, and you smell it as it escapes from the water. It's also used in bleach (chlorine bleach, eh?), so you can smell it in your own home if you like.
What you smell is a tiny bit of chlorine gas mixed in with a whole lot of air. In more concentrated form, it's a choking, toxic gas that would burn your lungs and kill you in fairly short order, if you were unable to get away. But combine it with sodium (a dangerous alkali metal that reacts explosively with water) and you get ordinary table salt, NaCl.
Chlorine gas also has the distinction of being one of very few colored gases: It's a pale but clearly visible yellow color. Bromine, however, is the champion in this category.
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Sal Ammoniac.
Names from a long time ago. Chemists may call it ammonium chloride, but if you go to a hardware store, it's still Sal Ammoniac ("Salt of Ammon", in the plumbing section), same as it was around the turn of the millennium (not that one, the one before). And even the chemist isn't escaping this history, because the modern name "ammonium" itself comes from Ammoniac, which comes from the fact that the substance was discovered in white crystals that formed on the roof from the burning of camel dung in the Temple of Zeus/Jupiter Ammon in Egypt (or so says the internet).
Today it's used to rub soldering irons on to clean the tips.
Source: Hardware Store
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 5 August, 2002
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: $3
Size: 2"
Purity: 50%
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  Gas in a bulb.
If you look closely you can see the pale green-yellow tint created by the approximately 1 atm pressure of chlorine gas in this sealed bulb. There's a very similar bulb under bromine, but its color is much, much darker. Normally when you see a "gas" that is colored, it's not really a gas but rather tiny droplets of liquid (in fog) or particles (in smoke) that make it look colored or thick. The difference is that in a real colored gas, there is no diffusion of the light, just attenuation. A fog or smoke makes things look fuzzy, while with a true colored gas, they look perfectly sharp, just colored.
I received this sample when Tryggvi and Timothy came to my sodium party.
I chose this sample to represent its element in my Photographic Periodic Table Poster. The sample photograph includes text exactly as it appears in the poster, which you are encouraged to buy a copy of.
Source: Tryggvi Emilsson and Timothy Brumleve
Contributor: Tryggvi Emilsson and Timothy Brumleve
Acquired: 21 September, 2002
Text Updated: 4 May, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 3"
Purity: 99.9%
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Sample from the RGB Set.
The Red Green and Blue company in England sells 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: 0.2"
Purity: 97%
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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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Gas in vial.
This is chlorine gas sealed in a quartz tube with Teflon stopper. It has a very pretty chlorine color to it. Greg sells lots of unusual elements on eBay: Check the source link for more information.
Source: Greg P
Contributor: Greg P
Acquired: 18 April, 2003
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: 99%
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Medicinal chlorine.
This item seriously scared me when I first opened it. All the literature it came with (old and yellowed instructions from the '50s) said it was "pure chlorine gas". The ampules (I got two) contain a pale yellow liquid that looks for all the world like compressed, liquefied chlorine gas. That would have made them very dangerous objects indeed: The pressure needed to liquefy chlorine is rather high, and the glass didn't look nearly thick enough for comfort.
But careful reading of the fine print showed that these are in fact just dissolved chlorine in an alcohol solution. What's still scary is their intended purpose: Providing a convenient way to inhale chlorine for medicinal purposes. The instructions say to sit in a small, closed off room, break open a vial, pour the contents out onto a plate and breath deeply. Ouch.
Inhaling halogens is generally considered a bad idea these days, but considering how much exposure we all have to chlorine in pools and cleaning solutions, these were probably not a whole lot worse.
Source: eBay seller dudemanlevi
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 20 April, 2006
Text Updated: 11 March, 2007
Price: $10
Size: 4"
Purity: 5%
Sample Group: Medical
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Pressurized ampule.
This is a small (1/8" inside diameter) vial of liquid chlorine. Unlike the medicinal ampule listed above, it's actually pure chlorine, made liquid by high pressure (about 7.6 atmospheres or 110 psi). It's safe because (a) it's very small, (b) the quartz ampule is very strong and (c) the ampule is inside a 3/4" diameter solid cast acrylic cylinder (which is intentionally made invisible in the photograph by clever lighting).
Ivan, who made this sample, tested it by heating it in a hot bath until the chlorine inside reached the critical point, where the distinction between liquid and gas phases disappears. For chlorine this point is reached at 76.0 atmospheres (1117 psi) and 144C (291F).
A note on photography: As a colored liquid, chlorine does not reflect or diffract any light: In order to see the yellow color, you have to have a light background (i.e. you can't light it from the side or front as I do most samples). But I always try to have a black background if possible, so to take these pictures (and the rotation video) I cut a small piece of white paper to the shape of the ampule only slightly larger, and held it behind the sample on the end of a wire sticking out the back. The paper was illuminated by a fiber optic light shining on it, with baffles in place to avoid having any light reach the sample other than by reflection off the paper. You can see some imperfections where the surface of the acrylic cylinder are visible, but all in all it worked pretty well to capture the sense of an ampule floating in space. (What's particularly tricky about this back lighting situation is that every part of the sample is a lens. The acrylic cylinder messes with the focus, the inner quartz ampule messes with the focus, and the fact that the ampule is not perfectly centered results in the apparent position of the white back light shifting back and forth as the sample rotates. It took hours.)
Source: Ivan Timokhin
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 7 July, 2006
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: $80
Size: 1"
Purity: 99%
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Clorox bleach.
Shouldn't that be Chlorox, if it's chlorine bleach? Anyway, this is common sodium hypochlorite household bleach, an example of one of the most common applications of chlorine, as a disinfectant and oxidative cleaner.
Source: Walmart
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 28 February, 2009
Text Updated: 1 March, 2009
Price: $6
Size: 10"
Purity: 3%
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Chlordane.
Chlordane was a very common insecticide used to combat termite infestations. The great advantage it had was that it would last in the soil for decades, effectively protecting a house for a very long time. This was of course also why it was banned: Like DDT, once it gets into the environment, it stays.
I found this old bottle in the basement of the building where our studio is located.
Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 16 October, 2009
Text Updated: 1 November, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 7"
Purity: <10%
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Nickel Chloride, 99.999%.
American Elements is a chemical supplier with a wonderfully refreshing attitude towards element collectors: They actually like small orders from people looking for exotic elements (within reason). They also sell quite a variety of compounds, particularly rare earth salts, many of which are highly colored.
This ball of nickel chloride (hexa-amine) has a bright, vivid purple color. I originally listed this sample as the hexahydrate, and amazingly within just a few days not one but two people wrote in to say there must be something wrong, because nickel chloride hexahydrate is not purple. I have the most informed readers!
Not sure why it's clumped into a round ball, but it sure makes photography easier. (Photographing powders is generally unrewarding, so it's nice to see one that has formed itself into a more interesting shape.)
Source: American Elements
Contributor: American Elements
Acquired: 2 June, 2006
Text Updated: 28 June, 2006
Price: donated
Size: 0.5"
Composition: Ni[(NH3)6]Cl2
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Ruthenium Chloride, 99.999%.
American Elements is a chemical supplier with a wonderfully refreshing attitude towards element collectors: They actually like small orders from people looking for exotic elements (within reason). They also sell quite a variety of compounds, particularly rare earth salts, many of which are highly colored.
This ball of ruthenium chloride (hexahydrate) is bright orange, very attractive in a poisonous sort of way.
Source: American Elements
Contributor: American Elements
Acquired: 2 June, 2006
Text Updated: 1 July, 2006
Price: donated
Size: 0.5"
Composition: RuCl3.3H2O
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Eudyalite.
Description from the source:
Eudyalite (Na4(CaCe)2(Fe+2Mn+2Y+ZrSi8O22(OHCl)2 trig.), Kipawa Alcalyne Complex, Villedieu Tow., Quebec, Canada. Red, granular, with white fibrous Agrellite and beige Vlasovite. A rich thumbnail. 2,2x1,7x1 cm; 5 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 26 September, 2008
Text Updated: 28 September, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 0.85"
Composition: Na4(CaCe)2(Fe,2Mn,2Y).ZrSi8O22(OHCl)2
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Kleinite.
Description from the source:
Kleinite ( Hg2 N (Cl SO4)\[CenterDot]n H2O hex.), McDermitt Mine, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA. Yellow crusts on Quartz. 1,8x1x1 cm; 5 g with box.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 14 October, 2008
Text Updated: 14 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 0.7"
Composition: Hg2N(ClSO4).H2O
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Sulphohalite.
Description from the source:
Sulphohalite ( Na6 (SO4)2 F Cl cub.), Searles Lake, California, USA. Perfect octahedral crystal, much better than the photo, rare. 2x1,8x1,5 cm; 12 g with box.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 26 October, 2008
Text Updated: 26 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 0.75"
Composition: Na6(SO4)2FCl
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Atacamite.
Description from the source:
Atacamite (Cu+2 2 Cl (OH)3 orth.), La Farola Mine, Tierra Amarilla, Atacama, Chile. Dark green acicular crystals on matrix. 6x4x2 cm; 52 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 26 October, 2008
Text Updated: 28 April, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 2.35"
Composition: Cu2[(OH)3|Cl]
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Halite.
Description from the source:
Halite (Na Cl cub.), Stassfurt, Germany. Interesting deformed cube, from a very old collection. 3,2x1,4x0,5 cm; 5 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 28 January, 2009
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 1.25"
Composition: NaCl
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Pyromorphite.
Description from the source:
Pyromorphite (Pb5 (PO4)3 Cl hex.), Bad Ems, Germany. Little but evident crystal cluster. 0,8x0,5x0,4 cm; 9 g with box.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 28 January, 2009
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 0.3"
Composition: Pb5(PO4)3Cl
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Pyromorphite.
Description from the source:
Pyromorphite (Pb5 (PO4)3 Cl hex.), Daoping Mine, China. Little, but very nice crystal group. 1x1x0,8 cm; 2 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 28 January, 2009
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 0.4"
Composition: Pb5(PO4)3Cl
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Vanadinite.
Description from the source:
Vanadinite (Pb5 (VO4)3Cl hex.), Apache Mine, Arizona, USA. Little but evident reddish crystals on solid matrix. 7,5x4x2 cm; 43 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 28 January, 2009
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 3"
Composition: Pb5(VO4)3Cl
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Halothane vaporizer.
Halothane is C2HBrClF3, basically a chlorofluorocarbon of the ozone-depleting variety. But surprisingly, it's also a very widely used surgical anesthetic. This vaporizer is used for administering the gas to patients and has controls for carefully adjusting the dose.
Source: eBay seller i_sell_tech
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 28 February, 2009
Text Updated: 1 March, 2009
Price: $100
Size: 8"
Composition: C2HBrClF3
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50 pound salt block.
This 50 pound block of salt cost $4.99. That's right, 10 cents a pound retail for something once so valuable that the very word salary derives from it. In solid block form salt like this is meant for licking by cattle. It's called a salt lick and you get them at farm supply stores.
Source: Farm & Fleet
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 28 February, 2009
Text Updated: 1 March, 2009
Price: $5
Size: 12"
Composition: NaCl
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Calcium Chloride ice melter.
Calcium chloride is sold for spreading on icy sidewalks to melt the ice. It's claimed to be less harmful than sodium chloride.
Source: Walmart
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 24 March, 2009
Text Updated: 25 March, 2009
Price: $30
Size: 0.125"
Composition: CaCl2
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Salt from Death Valley.
You're not supposed to take salt from Death Valley, it's a national park. First name only on the source. Tastes very salty, yuck!
Source: Kat
Contributor: Kat
Acquired: 2 April, 2009
Text Updated: 3 April, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 4"
Composition: NaCl
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Himalayan sea salt.
There is a list of 84 elements that seems to pop up repeatedly in the ingredient lists of "natural" mineral products, supplements, pills, and the like. Even, it turns out, in salt. Here then is the list of minerals claimed to be found in all-natural organic Himalayan sea salt:hydrogen, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluoride, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chloride, calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, gallium, germanium, arsenic, selenium, bromine, rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium palladium, silver, cadmium, indium, tin, antimony, tellurium, iodine, cesium, barium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum, gold, mercury, thallium, lead, bismuth, polonium, astatine, francium, radium, actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium and plutonium. I wish someone would tell these people that, for example, neptunium and plutonium do not occur in nature at all, let alone in salt. Unless, I suppose, if you count nuclear fallout as a "natural" source of ingredients.
What bothers me most is what this says about the level of scientific literacy, both of the people selling the stuff, and the people buying it. Does no one actually read the list? Or do they read it an not realize how preposterous it is? It's enough to make you despair for the future of mankind.
Pretty salt, though.
Source: eBay seller saltwonders
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 28 March, 2009
Text Updated: 4 April, 2009
Price: $15
Size: 0.25"
Composition: NaClSbCsDyErEuGdHfHoInLaLuNdPrSmScThTlTeTbTmYbY
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