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| A relatively common silvery radioactive metal that oxidizes readily in air and which is capable of undergoing nuclear fission.
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Thorium powder and foil.
Thorium many be relatively common (it is 200 times more common than silver and some beach sands in India contain several percent) but it exceptionally difficult to purchase. This is not because there is any law against owning small amounts (provided you have a reasonable justification) but simply because so few applications for the metal remain. Wherever possible its use has been phased out due to the hazards of safely handling and disposing of radioactive material. We were therefore absolutely delighted when a company that continues to use thorium for one of its few essential industrial uses kindly offered to sell us a modest stockpile for our displays. In recognition of this saintly behavior, and so as to be beyond reproach from the radiation safety standpoint, we constructed a very special reliquary to house this treasured sample. The window is thick lead glass (complete overkill as shielding but it looks great) and the housing is made of hammered lead.
Source: anonymous seller
Size: fragments up to 1"
Purity: > 99%
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Lantern mantle.
It is still possible to find radioactive mantles each containing up to 0.25g of thorium nitrate in old fashioned hardware stores although manufacturers are now increasingly replacing the thorium with yttrium. When heated by a stream of burning gas, the nitrate is quickly converted to thorium oxide which glows incandescent and gives out a beautiful warm white light. In years past hundreds of millions of these mantles were produced to light the homes and workplaces of past generations.
Source: Poores of Acton
Size: 2"
Purity: n/a
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