Bismuth
Real Metals · Uncommon · Modern
Cooled slowly from the melt, bismuth grows square spiral staircases, hopper crystals whose oxide skin turns every colour of the rainbow. It looks manufactured, and it is not. It is also one of the few things that expand as they freeze, like water, so it fills a mould right into the corners. And it is radioactive on paper, with a half-life a billion times the age of the universe.
Identity
- Symbol
- Bi
- Atomic number
- 83
- Source
- Natural element
- Also known as
- Bi
- Ores, before industry and since
- Bismuth
- Ores of the industrial age
- Bismuthinite, Galena
- Ore deposits
- Hydrothermal vein (lode), Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, Pegmatite deposit
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Silvery-white with a pink tinge when pure; forms spectacular iridescent hopper crystals with rainbow oxide tarnish
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 9.79 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 271 °C
- Boiling point
- 1564 °C
- Lighter
- Voidsteel
- Denser
- Beskar
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Low
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Tensile strength
- 7 MPa
- Softer
- Tin
- Harder
- Brass
- Workability
- Easy
- Brittleness
- Brittle
- Malleability
- Very Low
- Ductility
- Very Low
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- Moderate
- Reactivity
- Low
Lore & Narrative
Bismuth was long confused with lead and tin. It was only in the 18th century that chemists established it as a distinct element. Its primary medical use, Pepto-Bismol, makes bismuth the only element with a starring role in stomach medicine.
- Notable uses
- Medicine, low-melting alloys, cosmetics, crystal growing
- Forge uses
- Low-melting alloys, Cosmetics, Medical
- Worldbuilding traits
- Iridescent, Crystalline, Non-toxic, Beautiful
Sources
- U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Bismuth, USGS, 2025
- Bismuth, Wikipedia
- Montanregion Erzgebirge, Schneeberg: Erzgebirge/Krusnohori Mining Cultural Landscape, montanregion-erzgebirge.de
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