Hi! I Collect Elements.

DVCollector: He sealed the uranium medal in a little glass capsule, under nitrogen, I think. He does that with all the highly reactive elements such as the alkaline earths.

And he custom-made me a very nice little round lead case to keep it in, but that's more for show because the alphas can't penetrate the glass capsule. I asked him if radon build-up would rupture the capsule, but he said he didn't think that would ever be a problem due to the low level of radioactivity.

He obviously thought thought through all the possible issues.

Yes I have, back when I was a kid! It was one of the things that got me interested in the elements. I also remember an oscilloscope you could talk into, a giant Foucault pendulum, and a big uranium brick shielded in plastic, that you could (try) to pick up.

The media overplays the health risks of elements. I can remember playing with the mercury from a thermometer when I was young, rolling it around in my hand and coating pennies with it. Nowadays if that little blob fell on the floor in a classroom the health department would declare an environmental disaster, evacuate the school, and send in a decon team in hazmat suits.

IMO, one of the big problems with science education today is we've taken all the risk out of science, and thereby, all the fun. We wouldn't want our precious little snowflakes to do anything that might injure them now, would we? So instead of real stinks and bangs, we make them do "virtual" experiments on their computer, and it's no different from Warcraft or Sim City. Whoopee.

And we glorify ignorance of science and math! Think about it: we often hear "I'm terrible at math" or "That science stuff is way beyond me!" Now, how often do you hear someone proudly say "Oh I don't know what that says - I'm illiterate!"

No wonder kids don't think science is cool anymore.

OK I got that off my chest, feel all better, thanks for listening.

xphobe: Very well put! I completely agree.

sel: Neat list of offbeat coins. A collection of many different coin compositions would be really cool to see!

Found this on the net

"In 1869, Graham had a number of medallions minted in what he believed to be an alloy of palladium and hydrogen, which he called hydrogenium"


http://www.stillwaterpalladium.com/history4.html

Now, I think this discussion ought to be moved into the general forum - more people would see it - very interesting stuff!

Did I say general? I meant main forum - it's a discussion of coins but "non-denominational".