The Washington herald., 1908-03-29
METALS RARER THAN GOLD
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

To the average human being gold is the
rarest Of metals The savings Of the av-
erage man in the United States In a
whole year would not suffice 10 buy a
pound OF il. The yellow metal is so vaIu-
able that worth its weight In gold" has
become the expression OF the acme Of
value Yet gold is as dross compared /
with some OF the other metals that exist
Some of them are, indeed as many times 4
more valuable than gold as gold is more /
valuable than ordinary iron. Some Of /
them are so valuable that nineteen men I
out Of every twenty in the world could
not save enough money IN a lifetime 70
\ buy pound. There are at least twenty
six Of the metals which are more valuable 1
/ than the basic metal Of our currency sys- |
tenn.
| OF course, about the most valuable sub
stance known is radium Searching for a
/ needle in haystack is but the task Of a
/ few minutes as compared with the work
of finding a pound Of radium. II is esti- !
mated that il takes ZIP tons OF uranium
residue 10 make one pound Of the light
giving substance. and that Il costs s. 900
to gather the radium out of single ton
OF uranium. But after ii Is gotten 1t pays
Well for the trouble II square cent?
meter. which is just about one-third OF an
inch square. were covered over with
chemically pure radium il would lose only
about one One-hundredth and ffty-thOu-
sandths Of a grain in weight in a million
years. How tedious the task OF getting
radium is shown by the fact that there Is
more gold in sea water than there is ra-
dium in pitch blende OF uranium residue.
Gallium Is the rarest OF metals, II ra-
dunn be excepted. II is worth SsS.eO0 per
pound. OF nearly 90 times as much as
gold. The melting point Of this metal IS
below s. degrees. so that il VII melt
when held in the hand. Il was discov- /
cred by a French chemist in 1850. and was
named in honor OF France
The next rarest metal is vanadiusn- II
is valued at Sl0.7S0 per pound. II Is close
by allied 20 arsenic, phosphorus. and nitro
gen In its general chemical behavior. II
Is used 10 make salts, one OF which IN
turn. ammonia metavanadate. is used 20
make analine black dye and vanadjum
ink Vanadium IS said TO be present in
small quantities. IN nearly all clays, but
its most abundant source is vanadiate OF
lead. found in Scotland. Peru and Chill
The next most valuable metal known is
rubidium. II is valued al 9,S00 a pound,
I though few Of our acquaintances have
bought that much lately. II IS soft as
wax, even at low temperatures When
thrown in water II decOmposes that fluid
with the evolution Of hydrogen. which
takes fre because OF the heat produced in
the reaction. Rubidium is widely di1used
oh. al
titles as 10 make Il extremely rare. After
rubidium on the scale Of valuable metals
\ comes thorium. Its value Is $500 PEI
pound. A compound OF this element. tho
ria. is used in the manufacture Of incan-
descent gas mantles and gives them the
white brilliancy they possess. It Is found
principally in North Carolina and Brazil
Glucinium is valued al $3.50 per pound
II is used in chemistry as the base Of sew
eral salts
There are three metals-caiciun. Ian
thanum. and lithium-which are each val
ued at $500 a pound. Calcium has a
hardness about equal 10 that of gold In
solution it is that element which makes
water hard Its presence Is illustrated
by the deposits which form in the tea
, kettles of milady's household. II may be
. obtained BY passing a powerful current o.
voltaic electricity through fused en- ride
r OF calcium. when the metal separates into
minutes globules. II is a yell0wish-white
metal. and may be rolled into sheets or
hammered into leaves To be kept bright
II has 70 be immersed in naphtha- Ian
thanuu is said 10 have little practical
value. however great its monetary worth
Lithium is the lightest OF metals out
ranking even aluminium in that particu-
lar Its specific gravity Is but little more
than half that OF water.
Another groUp-indium. tantelum. yttTi-
um. and didymium-are valued al Si.410
per pound. Indium is Of rare occurrence
and not Of as great Importance as its val
ue would indicate. In this case. as well
as in that OF most OF the other metals
mentioned the value IS fixed by the cost
OF obtaining il rather than by any demand
for il. The same is true Of the other
three Of the $44lo class.
Strontium is worth Sso0 pound. Its
salts are used in the making OF fireworks
and the refining OF sugar. Many lives
have been lost in both the making and
preserving OF fireworks into which the
salts Of Strontium enter II is freely IL
able 10 spontaneous combustion Arium
and erblum are each said 10 be worth
S3S75 per pound. though the daily newspa-
rerS DO not as a EAit CtfIS AAaLhtN A-tl~t-
tions on them. Ruthenium is worth S2,6S5
per pound and the niobium ana rhOdium
are each worth 81 40 per pound.
Barium is worth 1850 per pound. Ba-
rum hydrste is made in large quantities
. at Niagara Falls by electrolysis Of the
soluble salts Of barium- II is used ex-
tensiveiy in sugar refining. and is said TO
be superior to lime for that purpose II
is also said 10 be valuable in the preven-
ton OF scale in boilers caused by the cal
cium deposits from water. The artificial
sulphate OF barium is widely used in
! permanent white" paint. making it re-
tain its luster for a long time
Titanium is valued at 1.102 per pound.
It is used in the making of fine steel and
gives II toughness and tensile strength,
which make titanium steel widely noted.
Zirconium also has a place in the world
Of usefulness in spite Of its great value,
-, s- .