Element Collection

Element Collection

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Experiment: Growing Bismuth Crystals

In this experiment, I'll be growing beautiful iridescent crystals out of pure bismuth metal. These "hopper crystals," as they are known, form completely naturally as molten bismuth cools and solidifies. They aren't found in nature, however, because of the specific circumstances required to make them. People make these in labs and sell some pretty amazing samples on eBay. The process is very simple, and is easy for anyone to do at home.