The legendary "Ice Tribe Divine Stone" in the web drama has been used by scientists to create a new world

Recently, the web drama "The Great Dream Returns" has ended. There is a very colorful stone in the play. It is said that it is "a sacred object passed down from generation to generation by the Bingyi tribe" and is also "the last stone used by Nuwa to repair the sky."

It can "repair the Cloud Light Sword and is also a container for sealing and suppressing things." It has brilliant colors, and even if it is broken into pieces, its unique internal structure still makes people feel different.

This is the mysterious stone called "Five-Color Stone". What exactly is this colorful and uniquely shaped stone? What's so magical about it?

Historical Origins

Judging from the structure of the broken fragments of the "five-color stone", it may be a metallic substance called natural bismuth . In the periodic table, the element symbol of the metallic element bismuth is Bi, the atomic number is 83, and the English name is Bismuth. This name comes from the Greek "Bismuthos", which means **"different metal"**.

Compared with other metals, bismuth is indeed different. It looks strange, with bizarre colors and a spiral staircase structure, which has a flavor of alien civilization and is full of technology.

Source: geologypage

In fact, as early as the ancient Greek and Roman periods, the ancients were able to extract bismuth metal from bismuthinite. The miners at that time mistakenly took bismuth ore as silver ore and named it tectumarenti, which means "silver in manufacturing". They also absurdly believed that bismuth ore was an intermediate substance in the transformation of lead into silver , and often used it to make the bases of boxes and chests.

Writings by the 15th-century German monk Basil Valentine called the element Wismut, meaning "white substance." Later, mineralogist Georgius Agricola recognized bismuth's unique properties, Latinized it as bisemutum, and described how to extract it from its ore.

By the middle of the 18th century, bismuth was recognized as a specific metal. In 1739, German chemist Johann Heinrich Pott and in 1753, French chemist Claude-François Geoffroy published studies on the chemical properties of bismuth.

Source: Reference [6]

The mystery of color and structure

In nature, fresh natural bismuth is silvery white , but after being exposed to air, it gradually oxidizes. Due to the uneven thickness of the oxide film (Bi2O3), interference occurs under light and presents a colorful effect, usually showing a light red iridescence (Irisdescent) - qiāng color .

Natural bismuth after oxidation | Source: Reference [7]

In nature, bismuth is usually found in hydrothermal veins, in association with quartz and minerals formed by metals such as cobalt, silver, iron and lead, or in the contact zone between granite intrusions and limestone. Common compounds are bismuthite (Bi2S₃) and bismuth sulphide (Bi2O₃).

Source: Reference [8]

Bismuth is generally difficult to exist alone in a free state, and bismuth crystals are also quite rare. The most familiar bismuth crystal is the intricate funnel-shaped structure , which presents a stepped hollow pyramid shape. A closer look reveals that it fits well with traditional Chinese patterns.

Enamel with Huizi pattern | Source: Reference [9]

This form is artificially grown in the laboratory by melting bismuth and then slowly cooling it. During this process, the edges and corners of the crystal grow faster than the faces, forming the characteristic hollow geometric shape - spiral steps - and this bismuth crystal is the most common artificial crystal.

The process of cooling and crystallization of natural bismuth artificially cultivated Source: B station @ 15th moon twenty-nine round

A versatile metal that is safer than salt

The atomic coefficient of bismuth is 83, and it is a neighbor of lead (atomic coefficient 82) in the periodic table. Although it is also a heavy metal, it is often low-toxic or non-toxic, and its toxicity is even lower than that of edible salt NaCl, so bismuth has become a recognized green metal element. People have used bismuth to treat stomach diseases such as gastric ulcers for a long time. The medicines we are familiar with include bismuth aluminum oxide, bismuth pectin, bismuth subcitrate, etc.

Generally, metals are radioactive, so what about bismuth? Bismuth-209, the most common isotope of bismuth metal, is considered to be the most stable nucleus, with a half-life of 1.9×1019 years, which is more than 190 trillion years and much longer than the estimated age of the universe (13.8 billion years). This means that solar radiation is much stronger than bismuth metal, indicating that bismuth metal is very safe.

Atomic mass and electron configuration of bismuth element Source: Reference [10]

In addition to medicinal uses, bismuth is also involved in many areas of our lives:

1

Paint and Makeup

In addition to its wide application in the medical field, bismuth metal is often used to make jewelry, crafts, cosmetics or pigments because of its almost magical colors. For example, the pearlescent effect of cosmetics such as eye shadow, French glue, and nail polish is the effect presented by bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl).

Cosmetics containing bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) Source: Reference [11]

The main component of the 2017 fashion color "Primrose Yellow" is bismuth vanadate (BiVO4). In addition, bismuth has the characteristics of high density and low toxicity, which can be used as a good substitute for lead. For example, green bismuth is used instead of toxic lead to make shotgun bullets.

“Primrose yellow” pigment - bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) Source: Reference [12]

2

Mobile small nuclear power source

Lead-bismuth alloy reactors, fast neutron nuclear reactors that use liquid lead-bismuth alloy as coolant, not only serve large-scale power plants of one million kilowatts, but are also designed as small modular nuclear power sources of megawatts. Even family cars are expected to be equipped with mobile small nuclear power sources. In the future, the dream of on-board nuclear energy will be realized by "bismuth".

Source: Reference [13]

3

Flexible wearable devices

**Bismuth telluride and its derivatives are currently widely used near-room temperature thermoelectric materials with excellent thermoelectric properties and great potential in flexible thermoelectric devices. **Ultra-thin flexible bismuth-based Hall sensors made from bismuth can be bent on fingers or wrists without losing magnetic or electrical properties. This wearable device is expected to be used in electronic skin, wearable physiological monitoring and treatment devices, etc.

Source: eScience

4

magnetic levitation train

Although the metal bismuth itself is not magnetic, it has strong resistance to magnetic fields and is a strong anti-magnetic material. As long as it is in a stable magnetic field, bismuth can be magically suspended, so it is used in the manufacture of maglev trains.

Source: YouTube @ Nighthawkinlight

5

Other features and applications

The Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics and Materials Science in Germany once said in the journal Nature: " Bismuth may be one of the most peculiar and underestimated elements in the periodic table ." Bismuth scientific research has become a research hotspot in many fields around the world, and the potential of this green metal is constantly emerging.

Bismuth metal has a very low melting point (271.4℃) and a very high boiling point (1564℃), and is often used to make low melting point alloys. For example, Wood's alloy, which has 50% bismuth in its standard composition and a melting point of only 70℃, can be used to make fuses, temperature probes for automatic fire extinguishing devices, etc.

Bismuth metal is one of the few materials that expands when cold and shrinks when hot. Its volume expands by about 3.3% when solidified, and can be used for precision casting with higher requirements.

Source: Reference [14]

Bismuth and its compounds and complexes have good photoelectric response and are used in the fields of luminescent materials, photoelectric detection, solar electromagnetics, etc. For example, bismuth-based perovskite solar cells, as a substitute for lead perovskite solar cells, are hailed as "new hope in the photovoltaic field."

Source: Reference [15]

Bismuth has many other applications...

Bismuth metal is the legendary "five-color stone" in film and television dramas. In real life, it was misunderstood as "silver in manufacturing" in the early days, and later it was recognized as a "different metal".

Artificial bismuth crystals look bizarre and have a sci-fi feel, attracting a wave of fans. Due to its unique physical and chemical properties, it is widely used in daily life and industrial production, and is also showing great vitality in many emerging fields...

In this way, bismuth can indeed be regarded as a "divine object passed down from generation to generation"!

References

[1] Tianyin. The most bizarre and underrated element in the periodic table - bismuth. Stone Science Studio. 2024.9.14.

[2] Bismuth: Nature’s Rainbow Metal. Exploring Nature. 2023.6.15.

[3] Rare Metals. Does humanity need bismuth? Getting to know the rare metal bismuth. 2023.9.4.

[4] Miao Yuqing. The magnificent debut of strategic metal - bismuth. Bismuth Science Research Center Team. 2023.5.11.

[5] Cao Tianyi, Shi Xiao-Lei, Li Meng, et al. 2023. Advances in bismuth-telluride-based thermoelectric devices: Progress and challenges. eScience.3(3), 100122.

[6]https://www.chemistrylearner.com

[7]https://www.dreamstime.com/

[8] https://rockseeker.com

[9] http://www.yidianchina.com/

[10]https://www.vectorstock.com/

[11] http://pleinvanity.com

[12]https://shop.kremerpigments.com

[13] https://www.sensaweb.com

[14]https://www.easiahome.com/

[15] https://nula.bg/

Planning and production

Source: Shanghai Natural History Museum (ID: snhm01)

Author: Liu Zhenghua

Editor: He Tong

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin

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