metal sample (rod)
Date: circa 1900
Inventory Number: 4936
Classification: Metal Sample
Owner: Theodore William Richards (1868 - 1928)
Cultural Region:
City of Use:
Dimensions:
8.4 x 1.5 cm (3 5/16 x 9/16 in.)
Accessories:
one of three bars contained in box: 4936 bismuth sample [?], 4937 copper sample, 4938 lead sample.
Description:
Short grey metal rod with rough surface. A rough calculation of density ruled out lead and suggested strongly that this was a sample of Bismuth.
FunctionThis is one of a group of bars in a box made so that they contain about one septillion atoms. As a consequence, all these bars will have the same heat capacity, that of about 6.1 gr. of water.
They may have been used by T. W. Richards to determine the exact atomic weight of the chemical (in this case bismuth).
It may also have been used to show that the heat capacity of a metal only depends on the number of atoms in the sample and not its composition. This would have been done with a calorimeter.
From Webster's 1913 unabridged: "Bismuth: (Chem.) One of the elements; a metal of a reddish white color, crystallizing in rhombohedrons. It is somewhat harder than lead, and rather brittle; masses show broad cleavage surfaces when broken across. It melts at 507° Fahr., being easily fused in the flame of a candle. It is found in a native state, and as a constituent of some minerals. Specific gravity 9.8. Atomic weight 207.5. Symbol Bi. Chemically, bismuth (with arsenic and antimony is intermediate between the metals and nonmetals; it is used in thermo-electric piles, and as an alloy with lead and tin in the fusible alloy or metal. Bismuth is the most diamagnetic substance known."
They may have been used by T. W. Richards to determine the exact atomic weight of the chemical (in this case bismuth).
It may also have been used to show that the heat capacity of a metal only depends on the number of atoms in the sample and not its composition. This would have been done with a calorimeter.
From Webster's 1913 unabridged: "Bismuth: (Chem.) One of the elements; a metal of a reddish white color, crystallizing in rhombohedrons. It is somewhat harder than lead, and rather brittle; masses show broad cleavage surfaces when broken across. It melts at 507° Fahr., being easily fused in the flame of a candle. It is found in a native state, and as a constituent of some minerals. Specific gravity 9.8. Atomic weight 207.5. Symbol Bi. Chemically, bismuth (with arsenic and antimony is intermediate between the metals and nonmetals; it is used in thermo-electric piles, and as an alloy with lead and tin in the fusible alloy or metal. Bismuth is the most diamagnetic substance known."
Historical AttributesBelonged to Harvard Nobel Prize winner Theodore William Richards.
Curatorial Remarks4939, 4940 & 4941 probably belong in this box too, but they are kept in a separate location.
