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Tantalum capacitors are one of the invisible backbones of the high tech industry. Every high speed digital circuit from cell phones to computers to talking dolls has tantalum capacitors scattered around the circuit board to absorb voltage spikes caused by the switching of the circuits. So fundamental are these capacitors that there has actually been an attempt to get people to boycott cell phones because of the environmental harm done by tantalum mining. (It didn't get very far: How are you supposed to organize a rally against cell phones without a cell phone?)
Tantalum is also used in high-end artificial body parts, including hip joints and arterial stents. The prices of such medical devices are breathtaking.
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Coiled filament wire.
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: 0.04"
Purity: >99%
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Small rectangle of 0.1mm foil, 99.99%
This small sample was kindly donated by George (not 007) Lazenby, who saw the slashdot discussion. It came in a lovely little plastic vial.
George got this and the other samples he donated at a surplus auction of his highschool. It seems he was the only one there who appreciated the erbium foil. This sample and the others he sent had been donated to the school by a former student who worked at NIST (National Institute for Standards and Testing), where they had been used as x-ray calibration standards. This means they are probably very pure.
Source: George (not 007) Lazenby
Contributor: George (not 007) Lazenby
Acquired: 24 May, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: 99.99%
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 Large rectangle of heavy foil.
This fabulous, quite valuable sample of tantalum was most graciously donated by .George (not 007) Lazenby, who saw the slashdot discussion. I don't know the exact thickness, but it's quite stiff and solid for a foil. It didn't quite fit under the tile, so I trimmed it square and carved an area over the sample hole so it could serve as a sub-lid underneath the wooden lid.
George got this and the other samples he donated at a surplus auction of his highschool. It seems he was the only one there who appreciated the erbium foil. This sample and the others he sent had been donated to the school by a former student who worked at NIST (National Institute for Standards and Testing), where they had been used as x-ray calibration standards. This means they are probably very pure.
In fact, analysis by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at the Center for Microanalysis of Materials, University of Illinois (partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-91-ER45439) indicates that it is basically pure tantalum within the detection limits of the instrument.
Source: George (not 007) Lazenby
Contributor: George (not 007) Lazenby
Acquired: 9 June, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 3.5"
Purity: >99.9%
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 Length of rod, bent.
This is a short length of rod, about 2 inches long and 5/16 inch diameter, obviously nipped off at both ends with some bolt butters or a sheer. It's fairly heavy, but not otherwise impressive compared to the same thing out of steel. Analysis by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at the Center for Microanalysis of Materials, University of Illinois (partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-91-ER45439) indicates it is pure tantalum within the detection limits of the machine.
Source: Neil Lipson
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 12 July, 2002
Price: $10
Size: 2"
Purity: >99.9%
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 Electrodes.
I got these tantalum electrodes on eBay. How do I know they are really tantalum? Because I trust in the basic goodness of the eBay community and have no doubt that every item is exactly what it's claimed to be, especially the elements.
Source: eBay seller snooj
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 22 August, 2002
Price: $10
Size: 0.2"
Purity: >90%
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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: 99.95%
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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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Sample from Wooden Book.
Max Whitby and I talked about publishing a wooden book/CD/DVD/mini element collection, but it didn't go anywhere. It would have consisted of a nicely engraved wooden "book" with a CD and DVD version of the website (for those with slower internet connections), and a set of nine safe, interesting elements in the form of cylinders, cast blocks, nodules, and the like. Think of it sort of like a mineral collection, except it's an element collection and it comes in a much nicer box. Here are a couple of pictures of the prototype:
 
This sample is one that is too expensive to include in the basic wooden book product, but it will be available as part of an add-on set of nine more exotic elements, which will be available to fill the nine spare holes in the book.
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 12 May, 2003
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 0.5"
Purity: 99.9%
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Skull plates.
I've always wanted a tantalum body part (not in me you understand, just as an element sample). This is a really nice one: Two cranial repair plates in case I ever get a hole in my head, and six dozen tantalum screws to hold them in place. I asked my friend Max from England what he thought I should do with the screws and he suggested maybe I could put them in my first aid kit. "Stiff upper lip old chap, just screw the old brain back in now. Not to worry, it's just a flesh wound."
Source: eBay seller carlrw
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 July, 2003
Text Updated: 11 March, 2007
Price: $61
Size: 3"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: Body Parts+Medical
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Tantalum-filament lamp.
Modern incandescent bulbs are exclusively tungsten filament bulbs: No other material comes close to tungsten as an ideal filament material. But in the early days of lamp making, several other elements were used including the very popularcarbon filaments and much rarer osmium and platinum filaments (which I have no samples of, sadly).
This tantalum-filament bulb is a fabulous curiosity for an element collector such as myself. I had no idea tantalum was ever used in lamp filaments, and in fact it was only used for a few years ending in 1910, so these bulbs are very rare. (See this website for pictures and information about nearly every tantalum lamp ever made. According to that website, my bulb is a 20 candlepower., 42 watt, 100-125 volt bulb. For comparison a modern 20W compact fluorescent bulb produces about 100 candlepower: 5 times as much light for half the power.)
Reader Art Braunschweiger has provided me with another fascinating bit of information: Among the many technical innovations and high-end features on the Titanic was that it was outfitted entirely with tantalum filament bulbs. They were touted as so reliable and efficient (compared to carbon filament bulbs) that night lights could be left on all night. This website has many details about the electrical equipment on the Titanic.
This bulb is also a fabulous sample because it shows that, yes, people really do buy and sell burned out light bulbs on eBay. Do you need any more proof that eBay is the most amazing market place ever?
This bulb is displayed in my Bulb Stand.
Source: eBay seller nwy
Contributor: eBay seller nwy
Acquired: 20 November, 2003
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: $35
Size: 6"
Purity: >90%
Sample Group: Light Bulbs
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Hollow cathode lamp.
Lamps like this are available for a very wide range of elements: Click the Sample Group link below to get a list of all the elements I have lamps like this for. They are used as light sources for atomic absorption spectrometers, which detect the presence of elements by seeing whether a sample absorbs the very specific wavelengths of light associated with the electronic transitions of the given element. The lamp uses an electric arc to stimulate the element it contains to emit its characteristic wavelengths of light: The same electronic transitions are responsible for emission and absorption, so the wavelengths are the same.
In theory, each different lamp should produce a different color of light characteristic of its element. Unfortunately, the lamps all use neon as a carrier gas: You generally have to have such a carrier gas present to maintain the electric arc. Neon emits a number of very strong orange-red lines that overwhelm the color of the specific element. In a spectrometer this is no problem because you just use a prism or diffraction grating to separate the light into a spectrum, then block out the neon lines. But it does mean that they all look pretty much the same color to the naked eye.
I've listed the price of all the lamps as $20, but that's really just a rough average: I paid varying amounts at various eBay auctions for these lamps, which list for a lot more from an instrument supplier.
(Truth in photography: These lamps all look alike. I have just duplicated a photo of one of them to use for all of them, because they really do look exactly the same regardless of what element is inside. The ones listed are all ones I actually have in the collection.)
Source: eBay seller heruur
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 24 December, 2003
Price: $20
Size: 8"
Purity: 99.9%
Sample Group: Atomic Emission Lamps
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Weck Hemoclip.
These clips are used in place of stitches to hold together or block off something medical, like a blood vessel. I think that, because they are tantalum, they are meant to be used in cases where they are left in the body permanently. I would guess, though I don't know for sure, that ones meant to be used externally and temporarily would not be made of such an expensive metal. As with everything medical, the regular price of these things is probably astronomical: I would not be surprised if the normal price per single clip is as much as the $10 I paid for a dozen packs on eBay.
Source: eBay seller shauna74
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 29 January, 2004
Price: $10.50
Size: 0.1"
Purity: 99%
Sample Group: Body Parts
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Museum-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 vial of tantalum capacitors shows an interesting industrial application of this element: The cases are pure tantalum metal.
Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 24 February, 2004
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: See Listing
Size: 2"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: RGB Samples
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Fantasy coin.
This is a coin, but not really. It's made by a person who, so far as I can tell, makes up and strikes pretend, unofficial coins for real countries. People have the strangest hobbies don't they? He makes fantasy coinage and I collect it because of what element it's made out of. Probably a sign of the end times if you get right down to it. Anyway, this is a coin for a real, if small, country, it just isn't issued by that country, and therefore it has no official status or face value. If I were that country, I'd be proud to have him as my country's currency designer: It's a lovely coin. As it is, only about 40 exist, and proper coin collectors dismiss them as nothing more than tokens (a chauvinist attitude I do not share).
Tantalum is not used for any "real" coins, mainly because it is so hard that the stamping dies tend not to last very long, making it impractical for longer production runs.
Source: eBay seller equillink
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 27 July, 2004
Price: $86
Size: 1"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: Coins
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Postage stamp cover.
People who collect stamps like to have "first day covers" which contain a sample of the stamp canceled in a fancy way. This one also contains a sort of reproduction of the stamp in, amazingly, tantalum foil with colors created by careful oxidation. It's iridescently beautiful, though the tantalum foil version of the stamp is not a legal-tender sort of stamp. Here is a picture of the whole package showing the real stamps next to the decorative tantalum version:
Warut Roonguthai, who kindly provided this sample, sent the following information about it and the similar tantalum version he sent:I believe that Royal Selangor (the company that produces FDCs (First Day Covers) for Malaysia) put metal cachets on FDCs because they are an expert in making metal objects/arts. So they want to show their ability to make those cachets.There are other versions of cachets like pewter and silver, but I don't think you are interested in such naive metals, and they can't be anodized to create colors. Royal Selangor started their business with pewter because there are a lot of tin deposits (in the form of cassiterite) in Malaysia and the southern part of Thailand.
The tantalum cachet I gave you is the only one they have produced! Now they only use niobium for making colorful cachets for FDCs since tantalum is much more expensive than niobium.
Best wishes,
Warut
Source: Warut Roonguthai
Contributor: Warut Roonguthai
Acquired: 16 August, 2004
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: 99%
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Suture thread.
This is a package of braided tantalum thread/wire intended to be used for sewing people up. Tantalum is used in body parts (see my skull plates above) because it's compatible with long-term exposure to human tissue. I don't know if it is still used for sutures: These are quite old.
Source: eBay seller artie324
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 17 August, 2004
Text Updated: 11 March, 2007
Price: $5
Size: 3"
Purity: 99%
Sample Group: Medical
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Spring Leaf of Holly in tantalum.
Shire Post Mint makes and sells an extensive line of fantasy coins based on the stories and worlds of the Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, George R.R. Martin, and others. What I like about this of course is the fact that many of them are made of unusual elements including titanium, niobium, and even hafnium (click the Sample Group link below to see the others).
The card for this one says it's made of Mythril (his name for niobium) but it's actually a test strike in tantalum. It didn't come out perfect (note the flaw on one side, visible in the rotation video), so the tantalum version isn't available for ordering.
Other versions in niobium are probably still available, so you can buy this coin from Shire Post Mint. (And if not, they have many others like it: If that link doesn't work, go to their home page and follow the links to find lots of coins.)
Source: Shire Post Mint
Contributor: Shire Post Mint
Acquired: 10 June, 2006
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: 99%
Sample Group: Coins
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Anodized foils.
These NASA-surplus tantalum foils have been anodized to various attractive shades of green, pink and purple. Not sure if NASA wanted them colored this way, or if it was just accidental. I have a story about how anodizing works: It's about titanium, but the principle is the same for any metal that forms a clear oxide layer.
Source: Ethan Currens
Contributor: Ethan Currens
Acquired: 1 July, 2006
Text Updated: 19 November, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 2"
Purity: 99.99%
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Tantalum evaporation boat.
Evaporation boats are used to hold a sample while it is being heated, for example to drive off vapors that will be analyzed by a spectrometer or gas chromatograph. This one is made of tantalum foil, which is good for this application because it resists high temperatures, is chemically quite inert, and doesn't cost nearly as much as platinum.
Source: Ethan Currens
Contributor: Ethan Currens
Acquired: 30 October, 2006
Text Updated: 19 November, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 4"
Purity: 99%
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Element coin.
Dave Hamric sells element samples under the name Metallium. He's developed a line of coins struck out of various common and uncommon metals: They are quite lovely, and very reasonably priced, considering the difficulty of creating some of them.
Here is the back side of this coin (click either picture to see it larger):
Click the Sample Group link below to see many other coins made of various elements, or click the link to his website above if you want to buy one like this.
Source: Dave Hamric
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 1 December, 2006
Text Updated: 14 January, 2007
Price: $16
Size: 0.75"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: Coins
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Thin scrap foil.
This is very thin, floppy tantalum foil out of which shapes have been stamped. Scrap from a lab.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 18 February, 2008
Text Updated: 8 March, 2008
Price: Donated
Size: 4"
Purity: >99%
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Chopped bulk piece.
Description supplied by the source:
This block of tantalum is the 4N raw material that is used by itself or as an additive in alloy melts-it is rather intimidating to think of the machinery that could chop bulk tantalum as thick as this so cleanly, as clearly happened. This piece also shows the internal structure, which you can see is probably not ideal for many uses-t is not homogeneous at all, and there are almost certainly voids.
Source: Ethan Currens
Contributor: Ethan Currens
Acquired: 30 April, 2008
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Anonymous
Size: 1"
Purity: 99.99%
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Twice-melted button.
Description supplied by the source:
This piece of tantalum is after the raw material has been melted into a special mold (melted on each side). It should still have basically the same purity (99.99%), which is also shown by the crystalline surface on the top and bottom. The company that manufactures these makes quite a few, apparently to be used as an anode in some special medical device. They would be machined after being melted, but to what dimensions or shape remains a mystery to protect the privacy of the customer.
Source: Ethan Currens
Contributor: Ethan Currens
Acquired: 30 April, 2008
Text Updated: 2 June, 2008
Price: Anonymous
Size: 1"
Purity: 99.99%
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Metal salesmans sample.
From the eBay item description, which pretty much sums up what this item is:This auction is for a very unusual, what I think would be called a Salesman Sample, of 5 exotic metal disks. The brown plastic case that measures 2.50 in. by 6 in., was received by my Father when he visited the Kawecki Berylco Industries in the 1970's. The company was bought by Cabot Corp. in the late 70's. The disks measure 1.25 in. dia. by .1in. thick. According to the description in the case the 5 metals are Beryllium, Lockalloy, Beryllium Copper, Columbium [an older name for niobium], Tantalum. This is the tantalum sample. Click the Source link to see the samples all together, and here's a picture of the whole set:
Source: eBay seller jacav111
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 27 December, 2008
Text Updated: 28 December, 2008
Price: $134/set
Size: 1.25"
Purity: 99%
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Zirconolite.
Description from the source:
Zirconolite var. Polymignite ((Ca Fe Y Th) (Nb Ti Ta Zr) O4 orth.), Stavern (Fredriksva"rn), Larvik, Vestfold, Norway. Black, fractured on matrix. 2,5x1,4x1,2 cm; 3 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 30 September, 2008
Text Updated: 1 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 1"
Composition: (CaFeYTh)(NbTiTaZr)O4
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Euxenite.
Description from the source:
Euxenite ( (Y Ca Ce U Th) (Nb Ta Ti)2 O6 orth.), Trout Creek Pass, Chafee Co. Colorado, USA. Crystal cluster, nice and rare example. 2x1,5x1 cm; 14 g with box.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 30 September, 2008
Text Updated: 1 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 0.75"
Composition: (YCaCeUTh)(NbTaTi)2O6
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Metal salesman's sample pouch.
From the eBay item description, which pretty much sums up what this item is:This auction is for a very unusual, what I think would be called a Salesman Sample, of 5 exotic metal disks. The brown plastic case that measures 2.50 in. by 6 in., was received by my Father when he visited the Kawecki Berylco Industries in the 1970's. The company was bought by Cabot Corp. in the late 70's. The disks measure 1.25 in. dia. by .1in. thick. According to the description in the case the 5 metals are Beryllium, Lockalloy, Beryllium Copper, Columbium [an older name for niobium], Tantalum. The individual disks are listed under their respective elements (beryllium for lockalloy, copper for beryllium copper).
Source: eBay seller jacav111
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 27 December, 2008
Text Updated: 28 December, 2008
Price: $134
Size: 6"
Composition: BeAlCuNbTa
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Euxenite from Jensan Set.
This sample represents lutetium in the "The Grand Tour of the Periodic Table" mineral collection from Jensan Scientifics. Visit my page about element collecting for a general description, or see photographs of all the samples from the set in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order.
Source: Jensan Scientifics
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2009
Text Updated: 10 January, 2009
Price: Anonymous
Size: 0.6"
Composition: (Y,Ca,Ce,Lu,U,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti)2O6
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Coltan ore.
You may have heard about an effort some years ago to organize a boycott against cell phones. This is the motivation behind the boycott: Coltan. The name is a contraction of columbite and tantalite, which are the major minerals present in the ore. The name columbite comes from the old name of niobium, columbium. Tantalite is of course named for its major component, tantalum. Coltan is a major ore for tantalum, used in capacitors found in nearly all digital electronics, including cell phones (and computers and talking dolls and defibrillators and pretty much everything else invented since 1980).
The problem with coltan is that some of it comes from a region in the Congo that is one of last habitats for gorillas. It's also an area home to the other kind of gorilla, guerrillas, who are fighting various nasty wars with each other, and using revenues from coltan mining to pay for those wars. Gorillas are being killed to fund guerrilla wars, and digital electronics are the beneficiaries.
The boycott didn't last long, and it's kind of hard to imagine how the sponsors planned to organize it without the use of cell phones. It's also worth noting that less than one percent of the world's supply of tantalum comes from the Congo.
Source: Jensan Scientifics
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 16 October, 2009
Text Updated: 18 October, 2009
Price: Anonymous
Size: 1"
Composition: FeNb2O6+FeTa2O6
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