When you think of metal, you most likely think of strength and toughness. Some are liquid in certain temperatures, while some are even edible (like gold and silver in food-grade forms). Here are some weird metals that will challenge your notion that they are anything but elementary.
Gallium
The element gallium is a soft, silvery-white metal that is solid at room temperature but it can literally melt (safely) in the palm of your hand, and feels like cold, melted solder. It’s one of the metals used in thermometers.
Copernicium
Copernicium is another weird metal that acts differently depending on temperature. At room temperature, it’s actually a gas, and has a half-life of only 29 seconds.
Francium
Francium is an alkali metal and very unstable. It may explode upon contacting the moisture in the air or with water and the entire area would be contaminated with radioactive material. It is unlikely that anyone has ever reacted the metal with water as it’s super rare and expensive. It’s also not visible to the naked eye.
Caesium
One of the most reactive of metals, it actually explodes when it hits water. It’s also one of the most dangerous waste products – it’s radioactive – of a nuclear power plant (ie. Fukushima). With a melting point of 28.4ºC, it resembles liquid gold at room temperature.
Bismuth
Bismuth is a silvery, pink-tinged metal, which happens to be one of the easiest metal crystals that you can grow yourself, forming complex rainbow-coloured geometric structures. Bismuth is also surprisingly edible – it’s the main ingredient in the antacid medicine, Pepto-Bismol.
Indium
Indium is a soft, silvery metal best known for its odd tendency to emit a faint crunching or squeaking sound – something called indium cry – when bent, which is caused by crystals twinning inside the metal. It’s actually pliable enough that you can actually chew it like bubble gum, yet it’s indispensable in modern tech, found in touchscreens and solar panels.
Osmium
Osmium is the heaviest of all naturally occurring metals. When it’s oxidised (by being exposed to air), it produces osmium tetroxide, a volatile and highly toxic compound that can damage eyes, lungs, and skin even in tiny amounts. However, metallic osmium can be converted into a stable, non-toxic, crystal: the crystalline osmium. Since osmium is the rarest stable metal in Earth’s crust — even rarer than gold and platinum — it’s a sought-after collectible metal which was only available to the open market since 2013 (it’s usually sold to luxury jewellers).
