Bismuth Facts
Bismuth Facts
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| Interesting Bismuth Facts: |
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| Bismuth has been in use since ancient times, and was previously confused with both lead and tin. |
| While no single person is credited with its discovery, it wasn't until 1753 that Claude Geoffroy discovered that it was a separate element. |
| Bismuth was among the first group of ten metals to be discovered and classified. |
| Bismuth crystals grow in an odd, staircase-shaped formation due to a greater growth rate on its outside edges than on the inside. |
| Bismuth has one of the lowest levels of thermal conductivity. |
| Bismuth is one of only a few elements whose liquid state has a higher density than its solid state. |
| Because bismuth expands noticeably when becoming a solid, it is used to alloy with metals to compensate for contraction. |
| One of bismuth's isotopes, Bi-209, was once believed to be the heaviest stable isotope in existence, but it was proven in 2003 that this isotope actually does decay. |
| However, the half-life of bi-209 is more than a billion times longer than the projected age of the universe. |
| Due to the rate of decay of another isotope of bismuth, Bi-213, the substance has been researched in applications to treat leukemia patients. |
| Bismuth is around twice as common as gold in the Earth's crust. |
| The major ores that contain bismuth are bismuthinite and bismite. |
| Almost 9,000 tons of bismuth are extracted and produced annually. |
| China, Peru, and Mexico are the major suppliers of bismuth. |
| Almost 75% of the bismuth produced by those three countries comes from China. |
| Bismuth is difficult to recycle because of the scattered nature of its use in production. |
| Medications, cosmetics, paint, and bullets made of bismuth would currently be impossible to recycle due to technology limitations. |
| Bismuth does not have significant applications compared to other elemental metals. |
| In 2010, the US used less than 900 tons of bismuth, with more than 60% of those uses going to one of the four applications that cannot be recycled. |
| Beginning in 2014, water systems will be required to be lead-free, and bismuth is currently being studied as a replacement. |
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