Mystery metall

[Återpenning]

I first was on the impression that this was plastic, as this was the body of the pen from an old digitizer.
When i then pick the parts apart i accidently droped it on a wooden floor, and the sound it gave when it hit the floor took me by surprise.
It sounded like an instrument, almost like a tuningfork.
It was coated with a really thick layer paint, and under is a shiny white metal.
I tried heating it and it became maleable when heated with a butan torch , the paint took the fire like a champ , ( yes i use ppe ).
Not magnetic, Have not tried paramagnetism yet, i think i will.
I have a clue what tis could be, but i am real curiuos what you experts think.

Best regards to all of you / Arne

 

[Yggdrasil]

I first was on the impression that this was plastic, as this was the body of the pen from an old digitizer.
When i then pick the parts apart i accidently droped it on a wooden floor, and the sound it gave when it hit the floor took me by surprise.
It sounded like an instrument, almost like a tuningfork.
It was coated with a really thick layer paint, and under is a shiny white metal.
I tried heating it and it became maleable when heated with a butan torch , the paint took the fire like a champ , ( yes i use ppe ).
Not magnetic, Have not tried paramagnetism yet, i think i will.
I have a clue what tis could be, but i am real curiuos what you experts think.

Best regards to all of you / Arne

In the pictures it look like Copper.

 

[anarxi]

need weight.
similar to nickel silver, an alloy of nickel, zinc and copper... with a high nickel content.
maybe that’s why it’s painted over, many people are allergic to nickel

 

[goldshark]

Hmmmm,,Silver colored metal. My guess would be one of the elements, or an alloy, from the periodic table. No guessing, have it analyzed with an XRF, or run the gamut of acid tests, streak test, hardness, and melting point tests. Just like what you would do to determine a mineral.

 

[Återpenning]

Its light, Lighter than aluminium.
Scratches easy but quite rigid.
Not copper yggdrasil

 

[Återpenning]

I have an old Hach spectrophotemeter , maybe time to fire that old machine up and study Beers law (again)

 

[Alondro]

Its light, Lighter than aluminium.
Scratches easy but quite rigid.
Not copper yggdrasil

I've sometimes found aluminum-magnesium alloys in older equipment. Sometimes even painted parts seemingly made of pure magnesium, which burns white hot when hit with a torch... and I expect must have caused some issues in the buildings where such equipment was used if ever there was a fire!

 

[Återpenning]

I am suspects it is beryllium.
Hcl eats it

 

[Yggdrasil]

I am suspects it is beryllium.
Hcl eats it

Hope not since it is extremely toxic and carcinogenic.
HCl will eat Al Mg and Zn so one can hope it is one of those.

 

[anarxi]

where does beryllium come from?
the world has gone crazy...
Some see a nugget of rhodium in every stone, others find rare beryllium everywhere, the toxicity of which has been known for a hundred years...
an ordinary aluminum-magnesium alloy, like the one beer cans are made from...

 

[Marcel]

I've sometimes found aluminum-magnesium alloys in older equipment. Sometimes even painted parts seemingly made of pure magnesium, which burns white hot when hit with a torch... and I expect must have caused some issues in the buildings where such equipment was used if ever there was a fire!

If it is lighter than (a comparable sized) Aluminium tube, it can not be a Precious Metal. There are not low-density PMs.

 

[goldshark]

where does beryllium come from?
the world has gone crazy...
Some see a nugget of rhodium in every stone, others find rare beryllium everywhere, the toxicity of which has been known for a hundred years...
an ordinary aluminum-magnesium alloy, like the one beer cans are made from...

Beryllium comes from the Beryl group of minerals. Some of the more famous are Emeralds, Aquamarine, Morganite, and a couple lesser known minerals.

 

[Återpenning]

Please Mr Anarxi, Dont put me in that category of people.
I have heard rumors that you are one of the better guys here, so dont be throwing stones.
I have a background in chemistry so i know somewhat wich way the world turns.
My reasearch in the machine it came from, and its technology in the late 70,s does support my theory.
As i undersdtand , the "pen" have a crude neutron or flux generator, and Beryllium is used as a part of the generator.
And the paint is probably Lead based as to protect the user.
In the pen there was a switch, that gets pushed on when you put pressure on the tip, then it fired away a pulse throu the object you try to digitalize.
And the signal got picked up by a thin pcb with a maze like pattern, and i beleive that pattern may have some interersting propertys.
Sadly i cant find it, but luckily i found two of those but only one "pen" .
It is not Magnesium, it would have made me blind if i ignited that much. It is not aluminium, its to light for that.
A alloy of Aluminium and Magnesium could maybe fit the bill, But the sound when struck is something i never experienced , ever from a metall.
The density is on par with some light plastic.

I know the dangers of Beryllium, Thank god for that....

Thanks for your replyes, i do really appreciate this forum.

 

[Återpenning]

Marcel, I know that but the propertys was interesting thats why i made this post.
There are lighter Platina group metals , but thats only light in relativity to the other elements in that group.

 

[Återpenning]

I will take the tube with me next time i visit the scrap dealer, and do an xrf on it.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Please Mr Anarxi, Dont put me in that category of people.
I have heard rumors that you are one of the better guys here, so dont be throwing stones.
I have a background in chemistry so i know somewhat wich way the world turns.
My reasearch in the machine it came from, and its technology in the late 70,s does support my theory.
As i undersdtand , the "pen" have a crude neutron or flux generator, and Beryllium is used as a part of the generator.
And the paint is probably Lead based as to protect the user.
In the pen there was a switch, that gets pushed on when you put pressure on the tip, then it fired away a pulse throu the object you try to digitalize.
And the signal got picked up by a thin pcb with a maze like pattern, and i beleive that pattern may have some interersting propertys.
Sadly i cant find it, but luckily i found two of those but only one "pen" .
It is not Magnesium, it would have made me blind if i ignited that much. It is not aluminium, its to light for that.
A alloy of Aluminium and Magnesium could maybe fit the bill, But the sound when struck is something i never experienced , ever from a metall.
The density is on par with some light plastic.

I know the dangers of Beryllium, Thank god for that....

Thanks for your replyes, i do really appreciate this forum.

Beryllium has a density of 1.8, Mg 1.3 and Aluminum 2.7.
Your pictures was not very clear so that was why I suggested Copper although it might have been the paint.
If you suspect Beryllium you really DO NOT put it in acid or shave/scrape off any chips or shards.
You just put it aside and leave it.
It is safe as a solid object, but dust splinters and chips are not if they somehow get ingested or otherwise find its way into our body.
Magnesium do not always burn easily, depending on alloy and ambient oxygen content.
A simple water test can decide the density of the material but just ballpark as there are paint on it.

It may not test well on XRFs as these metals do not always come up in XRFs.

 

[Alondro]

If it is lighter than (a comparable sized) Aluminium tube, it can not be a Precious Metal. There are not low-density PMs.

Well, magnesium's not a precious metal. It's an alkali-earth metal in the same valence group as calcium and beryllium, only lighter than Ca and heavier than Be.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Well, magnesium's not a precious metal. It's an alkali-earth metal in the same valence group as calcium and beryllium, only lighter than Ca and heavier than Be.

Wrong about the density, Mg is the lightest "usable" metal.
It has a density of 1.74 and Be has 1.88
But it is very reactive.