Discovered in the fifteenth century, although its discoverer is not known. Bismuth is a brittle metal which is silvery in colour with a pink tinge. It is stable in air and water. It has poor thermal and electrical properties and finds applications in the manufacture of fusible alloys, a range of materials with low melting points which are suitable for various applications including solders and thermal fuses. Pure bismuth shows a high absorbtion of gamma rays which makes it useful as a filter or window for these particles, whilst at the same time permitting the passage of neutrons.
Powder - Small particles with an approximately defined size range. Those materials described as alloy precursors are not true alloys - they are made by sintering a blend of powders of the component metals to achieve alloying by diffusion. The resultant cake is ground and sieved to the required particle size range. Unless otherwise stated, the particle sizes shown are for guidance only. We do not guarantee either any particular size distribution between the quoted minimum and maximum sizes, or a specific particle shape.
