[MagicalMayhem007]

I'm a sucker for all things shiny and pretty.

I've heard a lot about the Bismuth hopper crystals, and can't help but be completely captivated. Take this, for example:

http://0.tqn.com/d/chemistry/1/0/U/_/bismuth2.jpg

I've been thinking about buying some Bismuth to try and create these crystals for myself, but from what I've heard and seen on youtube, the crystals formed are firstly small, and secondly, mostly dark blue and black, with none of the golden brilliance seen in the above pick. The stuff I'm thinking of buying is this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-grams-High-Purity-4N-99-99-Bismuth-Bi-Metal-Lumps-EFN-/181273826248?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a34c313c8

According to the seller this is 99.99% pure - but apparently, in order to get the golden-red-green brilliance it needs to be in the order of 99.99999%. In all of the videos I've seen about forming these crystals, there always seems to be this slag that forms on top of the molten bismuth - I always thought that it was far too much for a mere 0.01%. Side question, anyone know why?

I'm a high school student and as such I'll have access to a fairly basic lab this year. (Should be able to use conc. acids, definitely crucibles, etc but no specialized equipment) Is there any way or particular method I can use to firstly try and form the largest crystals possible, and secondly try and obtain these incredible golden and red hues, possibly using further purification... Or is this only possible with a proper science lab?

Also, If anyone knows why Bismuth forms these hopper crystals I'd love to know!

Thanks!

[billnotgatez]

There is oodles of stuff out there on the internet
Some examples when I GOOGLE Bismuth and Bismuth hopper crystals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismuth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopper_crystal
http://chemistry.about.com/od/crystalrecipes/a/grow-bismuth-crystals.htm

Do you have a source that states you need 99.9999 purity - I am skeptical

From the looks of it, unless you have some special steps, I can not see where you would even need a lab.

I have some hearsay that indicates that the coloring is a surface phenomenon which can be scratch or eroded off. That would make it a poor candidate for jewelry.

So you have GOOGLE  WIKI and You Tube as resources

I would like to point out that you should have safety in mind when doing this
At the very least  good gloves
It would not hurt to protect the rest of your body to prevent splatter burns.
Can you think of other precautions you could take?

one other think -- if you have not read the forum rule -- please do so

[MagicalMayhem007]

Thanks, but I have read all of those. Just found the answer on reddit.

[billnotgatez]

@MagicalMayhem007
can you share the link

I ask again directly
do you plan on just displaying the shiny stuff
or are you going to try jewelry