Looking Back:
I wanted to try something that I was interested in. I really enjoy jewelry and I thought making bismuth would be a great way to do express that. In order to have the crystals you want, patience is important. First you have to wait for it to melt all the way down. During that process it's also important to clean off the layer of sludge at the top (which we don't want). The more times you touch it the less better looking the crystals will come out. I think that our experiment went really well, we followed the instructions and were careful with everything we did.
The materials that we used were:
- Tin cans
- Hot plate
- Bismuth
- Goggles/glasses
- Large tongs
- Small spatula
- Wire
I wanted to try something that I was interested in. I really enjoy jewelry and I thought making bismuth would be a great way to do express that. In order to have the crystals you want, patience is important. First you have to wait for it to melt all the way down. During that process it's also important to clean off the layer of sludge at the top (which we don't want). The more times you touch it the less better looking the crystals will come out. I think that our experiment went really well, we followed the instructions and were careful with everything we did.
The materials that we used were:
- Tin cans
- Hot plate
- Bismuth
- Goggles/glasses
- Large tongs
- Small spatula
- Wire
Looking Beyond:
Bismuth takes a while to melt depending on how much there is. We noticed that during the melting process it would start to sizzle and sink into the tin cup. Something that caught my attention was that the color depends on how much oxygen is exposed to it. This is called oxidation, the less oxygen the metal captures the more gold looking and colorless it will turn. The more oxygen it is exposed to the more blue and purple the crystals start to turn. In order to allow the crystals to become a golden color, we let the tin cup sit upside down so that less oxygen is in contact with it. We also observed that the crystallization process can be very fragile and quick. The reason why we had to restart at one time was that because we waited too long to collect the crystals. In order to create the best crystals is when they are still soft in the middle. We let it sit longer than we needed to, in which they already hardened.
Looking Inward:
I definitely got the desirable results I was looking for. Coming into this experiment, you never can really expect anything. I noticed that you can never make something exactly how you want. Working with bismuth is a bit difficult because you need to know when to clean off the sludge at the top, pour the melted metal into another tin, and when to crack open to get the crystals. I didn't have any expectations that I wanted to be met. I knew the possible mistakes that could happen along the way and was prepared to start the process over again. Olivia and I were very happy with our results in the end. Even though we made a couple mistakes here and there we managed to pull through and get the job done. For our first time working with bismuth, I believe that we performed extremely well.
Looking Outward:
Olivia and I decided to work together on this. We both wanted to make our own piece of jewelry but thought it would be fun to do it together. I know most teachers recommend that you not work with your friends but in my opinion, I think its great if you both agree on each making individual pieces. I enjoy working with a partner on labs because I feel like I learn way more about the topic and the person. Having someone by your side doing the same process allows you to work with each other to solve problems that occur and have two opinions about it. I think we worked alright together. Especially with this lab I think that we fulfilled our goals and needs. At times it was difficult to decide on who wanted each crystal since there was a limited supply on bismuth at the time.
Looking Forward:
If I could do this again I would try to find a way to have the bismuth crystalize into a shape. You can't control the shape you want the crystals to form at, it all just depends on which way it wants to harden into. That would be something I would look into if I were to do this again. This experiment could be continued along the way, making different pieces of jewelry like, earrings, necklaces, hair pins etc. I do love the way bismuth looks, I don't think that I would do this again. It was a nice and cool experience along the way and the end product but I'd like to try something new next time.
Take Aways:
There were multiple take aways from this lab. I learned that sometimes things don't go as planned, as for us we had to deal with what we had and go with the flow. Mistakes happen and theres not much you can do but just improvise. Bismuth is a very interesting metal and very unpredictable. Some crystals come out not as good looking as you hoped for but I tried to find away to make it work and look unique.
Bismuth takes a while to melt depending on how much there is. We noticed that during the melting process it would start to sizzle and sink into the tin cup. Something that caught my attention was that the color depends on how much oxygen is exposed to it. This is called oxidation, the less oxygen the metal captures the more gold looking and colorless it will turn. The more oxygen it is exposed to the more blue and purple the crystals start to turn. In order to allow the crystals to become a golden color, we let the tin cup sit upside down so that less oxygen is in contact with it. We also observed that the crystallization process can be very fragile and quick. The reason why we had to restart at one time was that because we waited too long to collect the crystals. In order to create the best crystals is when they are still soft in the middle. We let it sit longer than we needed to, in which they already hardened.
Looking Inward:
I definitely got the desirable results I was looking for. Coming into this experiment, you never can really expect anything. I noticed that you can never make something exactly how you want. Working with bismuth is a bit difficult because you need to know when to clean off the sludge at the top, pour the melted metal into another tin, and when to crack open to get the crystals. I didn't have any expectations that I wanted to be met. I knew the possible mistakes that could happen along the way and was prepared to start the process over again. Olivia and I were very happy with our results in the end. Even though we made a couple mistakes here and there we managed to pull through and get the job done. For our first time working with bismuth, I believe that we performed extremely well.
Looking Outward:
Olivia and I decided to work together on this. We both wanted to make our own piece of jewelry but thought it would be fun to do it together. I know most teachers recommend that you not work with your friends but in my opinion, I think its great if you both agree on each making individual pieces. I enjoy working with a partner on labs because I feel like I learn way more about the topic and the person. Having someone by your side doing the same process allows you to work with each other to solve problems that occur and have two opinions about it. I think we worked alright together. Especially with this lab I think that we fulfilled our goals and needs. At times it was difficult to decide on who wanted each crystal since there was a limited supply on bismuth at the time.
Looking Forward:
If I could do this again I would try to find a way to have the bismuth crystalize into a shape. You can't control the shape you want the crystals to form at, it all just depends on which way it wants to harden into. That would be something I would look into if I were to do this again. This experiment could be continued along the way, making different pieces of jewelry like, earrings, necklaces, hair pins etc. I do love the way bismuth looks, I don't think that I would do this again. It was a nice and cool experience along the way and the end product but I'd like to try something new next time.
Take Aways:
There were multiple take aways from this lab. I learned that sometimes things don't go as planned, as for us we had to deal with what we had and go with the flow. Mistakes happen and theres not much you can do but just improvise. Bismuth is a very interesting metal and very unpredictable. Some crystals come out not as good looking as you hoped for but I tried to find away to make it work and look unique.